If Wishes Were Youkai
by EternalMidnight
Summary: Hiei's Jagan has chosen a mate. A HUMAN mate. Well that sounds just dandy, doesn't it? [Hieioc]
1. A Distance in the Making

**Disclaimer: **I have…a wad of lint and a Dr. Pepper can, do you want that? Cause it's all I own!

**Claimer: **I own all the poems, drabbles, and one-liners in this story so get permission from me okay???

**Warnings: **Language and I'm sure there will be some sex or something in later chapters…whatever floats my imagination boat.

**I F. W I S H E S. W E R E. Y O U K A I.**

**Chapter 1- A Distance in the Making**

_A dream is nothing more than an image to those who don't open their eyes…_

**8:15 a.m.**

Natsumi hit the black button on her alarm clock and pulled the covers back over her. _Shit…I have to get up and go to work. _She managed to pull herself out of bed and trudge into the bathroom. She wiped her cracked, rust stained mirror and began to slowly brush her teeth. It was about three months ago that she was kicked out of her other house and crammed into this "shit hole".

She rubbed her emerald eyes and combed her dark brown, shoulder length hair out with purple tips.

She pulled on a pair of acid faded jeans with a hole in each knee and a black t-shirt with the white block letters, "NIRVANA" printed across. Then she tied the laces on her black converse and shot out her door.

(**I.E.-NIRVANA is THE COOLEST BAND EVER!!! Which I do not own…) **

Natsumi ran down the street trying to be on time to work. _I can't wait until I can drive. _She said wearily. Then she felt it again; the strange feeling that she was being watched. She shrugged it off, unaware of the shadow by her.

**8:30 a.m. **

Kurama gently opened the cupboard and pulled out cereal. He always woke up early every day of the week. "Hm, mother left a note."

_Darling, _

_I left early to do shopping and go to my book club; please don't eat that sugar cereal again. _

Kurama chuckled as he shoved the spoonful of chocolate goodness into his mouth. He savored the flavor as his kitchen window was slung open. It was Hiei, as usual.

"Hiei hello-…"

"I have a problem."

"Hm?"

"With my Jagan, it's gone haywire."

"How so?" Kurama held a chair out for his friend but Hiei didn't take it. Instead, he paced like he was a drug addict.

"I think it's chosen a mate."

"I didn't know it could do that."

"Neither did I."

Kurama kept his cool as always and tried to comfort the fire demon. "Hiei it's not that bad. Who is she?"

"A human."

**9:30 a.m. **

Natsumi flung open the door to the ramen bar and grill. "Natsumi! You're late, again! You are supposed to be here at nine!" Her boss shouted. "There's no one here yet! We don't open until ten!" She shot back.

"Just get on your smock and clear off the tables, I don't know why I put up with you." Natsumi pulled the maroon smock off the cloak room and grabbed the wax rag to clean the tables.

---

Kurama almost spit out his cereal and blinked twice before speaking. "A human girl…? Are you sure? Maybe there is a mistake or..."

"No Kurama, I wouldn't have come if I wasn't absolutely sure. Now what the fuck am I supposed to do?" Kurama put his empty cereal bowl in the sink and thought for a moment.

"Hiei you know what you have to do. If the Jagan has chosen a mate then you should just go for it."

Hiei stared blankly at the fox for a moment. "Fuck you fox." Kurama sighed. "Hiei have you talked to her or…something?"

"I've been following her for the past week."

"That's all?" Hiei gritted his teeth with anger. "What am I supposed to do? Do I look like someone who is familiar with ningen customs?"

"I was fine a week ago until this happened. Now I have to go off and try to "get with" this girl."

"Hiei…"

"I don't want a human."

"Hiei…"

"If I kill her maybe-…"

"Hiei!" Kurama shot up out of his seat and Hiei almost jumped. "WHAT!?"

"Your Jagan is glowing, Hiei." Hiei put his hand over his forehead. Why hadn't he sensed that? Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. "Hm, that girl…" he murmured. "What…what's going on?" Kurama was curious, trying to hear what Hiei was going on about.

"That restaurant with the noodles; the girl works there. She's going to be attacked." _Why do I feel the need to go rescue girl; I don't care! _

"Hiei don't just stand there! Go save her!" Kurama grabbed Hiei's cloak and shove him out the window, climbing out behind him.

---

Natsumi rubbed harder on the coffee stain. _Stupid coffee… _she grumbled and rolled her eyes at the stubborn stain. She could almost see the shine, when a looming shadow came behind her. "Sir we don't open for another half an hour, please leave." Natsumi clenched her teeth and spoke in the most pleasant voice possible; she didn't face the man.

"Are you the mate of Hiei?" a towering voice boomed. She stopped scrubbing the table. "No I don't know a Hiei…would you please leave I wont ask you again-…" Natsumi flung around to face the large man.

The rag slipped from her fingers and her pupils dilated. The man in front of her was no man. The large "thing" in front of her, was about ten feet tall, rubbing large green hair across the ceiling. His orange skin was bubbling and his teeth were overgrown and sticking out of his mouth.

"W-we…don't open…until…t-ten…oh fuck."

"His scent is on you, since you smell like him, you must be his mate and you must die!" The demon lifted up his arm and prepared to slash Natsumi with his sharp claws. She dropped to ground and looked around for help. No one was around. Her boss was unconscious on the ground. _This is a dream…I'm dreaming. _

This was it. The youkai dropped his claws and Natsumi could only watch. But instead of being slashed, a black shadow jumped in front of her.

Hiei unsheathed his sword and quickly chopped the youkai into small sections. Natsumi was dumbfounded.

"Are you stupid? MOVE!" The boy shouted, but Natsumi only stared at him. _Move…what? Oh…! _Natsumi tried, but her feet felt planted. Hiei sighed. _This is too troublesome. _He decided, before grabbing the girl's shirt. He proceeded to throw her to the side but his Jagan sent a strange pain through his body. He grumbled and placed her down gently. "Don't do something stupid."

She nodded. Hiei left her and pointed his sword at the youkai. "As for you, I'm having a bad day, so die quietly."

Before Natsumi could blink, the youkai was laying on the floor in a pool of his own blood; dead. "…what the hell…?" Natsumi grabbed the tuffs of hair on her head and pulled on them lightly.

Hiei turned to Natsumi. This was his first real encounter with her. He swallowed. _I fucking hate humans. _He walked over to her and she looked up at him. "Whoa, there's an eye…" she peered into the Jagan. "Why is there an eye on your forehead!?"

Hiei blinked. "That's all you have to say?"

"Huh?"

"You are very foolish."

"Excuse me? I'm not the one with a third eye."

"That's it; I'm going to kill you."

"HIEI!" Kurama yelled, and Hiei stopped. "What now fox?" Natsumi looked at the boy. _Hiei…wait a second is this the same Hiei that monster was talking about?_

"First of all, he wasn't a monster he was a youkai." Hiei glared. "You can read my thoughts?!"

"Yes I can, and I am a youkai too, I know that's what you're thinking." This was too much to handle. Youkais? Third eyes? "Don't panic, I know this seems like a little much but we'll explain everything." Kurama cooed.

"Are you…a youkai too?"

"Yes." Natsumi fainted.

**10:30 a.m.**

"Hey…Kuwabara look she's waking up."

"Don't poke her Yusuke!"

"So Hiei where did you pick up this chick again?"

"Will you shut up?"

"Her eyes are open."

A boy with black hair and an orange haired boy where peering down at Natsumi. "Where am I? The hospital?" she asked groggily.

"Nope! You're in Kurama's house!"

"…Who is Kurama?" There was a little wave from the red haired boy. Natsumi rubbed her head and tried to recall what had happened. _That's right…_She shot up. "Whoa okay...are you a youkai? Or you?" She pointed at Yusuke and Kuwabara. "No we're human. So, where did you meet Hiei?"

"Hiei…Hiei…um actually I haven't really met him but if someone could tell me WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE!?"

Hiei slapped his hand over her mouth. "Shut. Up." He pulled his hand off. That pain again. He cursed himself silently. Kurama pulled up a chair to his bed where Natsumi had been passed out for the last hour.

"Natsumi, it is Natsumi right? Well you see Hiei…" Hiei pulled out his sword. "No! Just have Koenma erase her memory!"

"Hiei we can't! Come on don't be heartless!" Hiei growled at Kurama. _This is going to hurt. _He told himself, but using the sheath, he stunned the girl.

**2:00 p.m.**

_When you need a car_

_Truck or van_

_Who you gonna call? _

_Call- _

Natsumi slammed down on her alarm clock. "W-what time is it?" She stared wide eyed at the clock. "Shit! I'm late for work!" She made a leap for the bathroom and realized she was dressed. "Wait…" the event came flooding back to her.

"Was…I dreaming all that?" Natsumi thought of Hiei. _What a weirdo…_she thought absent mindedly. Then she remembered work. "Oh crap, this time I'll get fired for sure!"

Natsumi ran into the ramen bar and grill in a frantic pant. "Sorry I'm late but deal with it cause…" The restaurant was a mess. Her boss was still lying on the floor and a pool of blood was next to a table where a wax rag lay on the floor. "Okay, so it wasn't a dream…that means I have to find that boy! Ugh! This is so stupid!"

She threw her smock on the ground and dashed out into the street where the distant screams of people could be heard. "What's going on now?"

There was a short explosion followed by screaming. Natsumi turned around and saw a dark cloud of smoke. "What…the hell?" As the smoke cleared, she saw a tall dark figure. Yes, another demon. "No…way…no!"

---

"Hm yes…I see…a mate…well…yes…hm…okay…" Koenma nodded at everything Kurama was saying. "Koenma are you getting all of this?"

"Yes! Sort of…" Koenma twiddled his fingers a bit. "Well if the Jagan has chosen a mate then why is Hiei here and not…with her? I know she's human but…"

"Koenma. This is Hiei we're talking about." There was a point to that. "Still regardless of Hiei's…er…violent personality, he should be protecting her! There will be more than one going after her now that they have learned about this!"

"I know a lot of youkai want Hiei dead." Koenma paced on his desk. "Okay well, there is only one solution here. Hiei will warm up to her but she needs protection now. So…Kurama can you get me a drop of Hiei's blood?"

"Huh?"

Koenma pulled out a desk drawer and fumbled around before pulling out a black book. He checked around to make sure Hiei was still outside. "Okay," he whispered. "Get me a drop of Hiei's blood and I can ask Botan to mix that with these ingredients…and the result would be…"

He flipped a switch on the TV. "A spirit protector!" he yelled. Kurama cleaned out his ear. "A spirit protector?"

"Yes, in Hiei's case it will be a dragon. A spirit protector was used long ago for when youkai had to leave their mates, they could protect them. The dragon is drawn the spirit energy Hiei gives off for Natsumi. Cool no?"

Kurama smiled. "That seems like a logical idea. But…I just need Hiei's blood…"

"Right well that might be a problem. For now, however, I have sent Yusuke and Kuwabara to find her and bring her to a safe haven."

"Where will they take her?" Kurama asked, curious to know if Koenma would bring her to spirit world.

"Your house!" Kurama sweatdropped.

Hiei waited impatiently for Kurama to exit Koenma's office. His head was still throbbing from when he had stunned Natsumi. _I hope she's okay…what the hell was that? It's my Jagan talking; I don't care about her at all. _

"Hiei, um…" Kurama darted his eyes side to side. "What do you want Kurama?" Hiei wasn't in a good mood but Kurama knew what had to be done. He needed Hiei's blood somehow. Then the idea struck him.

"Hiei, look Natsumi is coming towards you!" Hiei turned his head frantically towards the right, and Kurama pounced on him.

"Hiei hold still!" Kurama had positioned himself on top of Hiei and was trying to prick his finger. "Kurama, what the hell do you think you are doing?!" Hiei punched Kurama hard in the back but the fox still managed to prick his finger and get a drop of blood. He jumped up and began to run into Koenma's office.

"What…Kurama! Get back…why the hell did you do that!?" But the fox had already closed the door to Koenma's office. (Miraculously Hiei didn't throw Kurama off…but you know…he needs the blood.)

---

"Hey Urameshi where are we supposed to find this chick?" Kuwabara opened the lid to a trash can and peered in. "Not in there you idiot!" Yusuke hit the orange top lightly on the head. The two boys had been searching around the city for almost an hour.

KABOOM! (My explosion effects, oh yes cheesy to the extreme!)

The two teens turned their heads to the south where a cloud of smoke was. "Hey Kuwabara, how much you wanna bet that she's over there?"

---

Natsumi didn't bother to look at what was chasing her; she just picked up her legs and ran. _Oh shit, shit I can't believe I didn't bring my blade with me today of all days. _She didn't want to scream for help but she turned her head around and saw a black creature that looked like it was made of goop.

"Oh for the love of God…HELP! Someone help me!" She hopped over a bench on the sidewalk and toward the black haired and orange haired boys. "Hey help me! Hey…uh..." _Where have I seen them before? Oh…that's right! _

---

Kuwabara and Yusuke watched as Natsumi ran straight towards them. "Hey that's her!" Kuwabara pointed out.

Yusuke ran towards her and pointed his index finger to the demon behind her. "Move to the side!" he shouted, and Natsumi obeyed.

"Spirit Gun!"

A blue beam of energy hit the youkai and killed it almost instantly. Natsumi pulled herself out of the bushes and ran over to the boy. "How did you do that?" she demanded.

"Geez, I don't even get a thank you?" Yusuke said sarcastically. Kuwabara came running over to join them. "So…uh…you're Natsumi right?"

"Yea, what's it to you?" She crossed her arms and eyed the boys. "Well, what's going on here?" Yusuke scratched the back of his head innocently. "Okay, okay, we'll tell you. But first you have to come with us to Kurama's house. You remember him right?"

She nodded at the thought of the pretty red head. "So come with us to his place and we'll explain everything."

---

"Hm…a little of this…and some of that…yea that sounds about right…" the girl with blue hair and a pink kimono said. "Oh Koenma this is so exciting!" Botan chirped.

"Well I'm gad you're enthused." Kurama said lightly. Koenma paced around. "Are you done yet?"

"Almost! I need the final ingredient. Give me Hiei's blood." She held out her hand and Kurama placed the vile in it.

"Okay people let's hope for the best." She dropped in the blood and everyone backed away from the bowl. They waited but much to their avail, nothing happened.

Botan cautiously approached the bowl. "Nothing's happening." She pointed out. Koenma grabbed the book and read it. "Oh crap…it takes a week to form."

"A WEEK!?" Botan and Kurama shouted. Koenma sweatdropped and laughed nervously. "Well, um…just try to let Hiei and that girl not kill each other. In the mean time Botan and I will see if we can form the Spirit Protector sooner."

Kurama bowed and exited the office. _Oh Kami help us, a week? _Hiei was sitting impatiently with his arms crossed. "Well, why did you need my blood? Tell me before I kill you."

Kurama smiled lightly. "Oh we just needed to make sure, uh…that your Jagan was alright."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"You're lying."

"Would I lie to you Hiei?"

"Hn, yes." Kurama gave Hiei a hurt look but began to walk anyway. "Well then let's go back to my place okay?"

Hiei eyed Kurama suspiciously. "Why?"

"Hiei you're too suspicious, we're just going back to meet Yusuke and Kuwabara!" Kurama lied through his teeth but Hiei bought it. His Jagan was weak from the recent strain.

---

Natsumi nodded along while Yusuke explained. Her eyes were wide, indicating she was actually listening. "So, this Hiei is my…mate?" The two boys nodded. "Well he doesn't want to be your mate, but the third eye on his forehead is uncontrollable right now." Natsumi fidgeted on the couch. "So what like he could just pounce on me at anytime?"

Yusuke thought for a moment. "Well, yea." Kuwabara took a sip eagerly from his soda can. "That is…a load of crap! I don't want to be his mate! I'm only fifteen!" Yusuke and Kuwabara backed up off the couch. "That could have gone better." Kuwabara stated flatly.

The brown and purple haired girl paced the wood floors. "I can't be a mate to a…youkai! What if I don't want to? HUH! Oh my God what if he rapes me!"

"No I'm sure Hiei wouldn't…well…" Yusuke rubbed his chin. Would He? "Urameshi I don't think that's helping."

There was the sound of a key turning into a lock and Kurama entered. "Hello everyone." Natsumi ran up to the boy. "Where is he!?"

"Huh…who? Hiei oh he's coming." She gulped. "You're lucky you know, my mother called my cell phone to say she won't be coming home until this next Monday. She won a contest for her book club." Kurama opened the door wider.

"Hiei, get in here." Natsumi stared out into the setting sun. "Uh, where is he?"

Kurama sighed. _This is not going well. _"Hiei, now." That's when the black shadow entered. Cold and hating, Hiei came in and shoved passed Natsumi. "Yea I'm here."

He glared up at Natsumi; she was only an inch taller than him. "And you get out of my face. Don't stare at me." Natsumi's eye twitched. "Bastard, I'll fucking murder you!"

"Don't do that!" Kurama grabbed Natsumi and Kuwabara and Yusuke held Hiei back. "You two…have to learn…to get…ALONG!" Kurama struggled with the girl, she was stronger than he thought. Finally, she settled down. "Whatever, I'm going to get my pajamas on."

"Hn," Was all Hiei said. Kurama slapped a hand to his forehead. This was going to be a long week.

Well that's the end of chapter one! Hooray for me! Please review and no flames cause that's just stupid. Don't like, don't read, and don't review! But for everyone else please review and tell me how you feel!


	2. Midnight Conversations and Morning Panca...

**Disclaimer: **Shoo away little lawyers. Shoo!

**To The Readers: **Since we are currently on vacation, I can update whenever but once I go back to school expect updates on either Wednesday or Saturday. Thank you!

**Reviewer Responses (Me responding to all you cool people!) **

Nicole A.B. (Kita): I'm glad you like both of my stories and my sound effects. It's really hard to make those stupid sound effects you know? And I'll just put you as Kita next time.

Riley Shi-Anne: Next chapter is here!

LadyOfTheWolves: Yo, I'm glad you like my story so far, I'll be sure to update whenever possible.

Nelly: -Types very fast- I'll definitely update since people seem to like my story.

TPM-girl: I'm smiling cause of all these reviews so thank you, thank you!

Smirking Arrogance: Really you think so? The idea just sort of popped into my head! Thank you so much!

**IF. WISHES. WERE. YOUKAI. **

**Chapter 2-Midnight Conversations and Morning Pancakes**

A pair of red boxers and a blank tank top was laid out on the guest bed that was now Natsumi's room. The sheets were a black satin and the floors were wood but other than that the room was bare. Natsumi suddenly wished she had her posters from her apartment. She soon realized she was homesick, even if she didn't have much of a home. She sighed. _I remember waking up today and telling myself I was going to go back to school soon; so much for that idea. _

As she changed into her clothes she wondered how long they planned for her to stay there. She didn't have any parents so no one would really miss her but still…if they expected her to stay that long, they were dead wrong. "Plus," she said aloud to herself, "My clothes are still in my apartment, and I can't live here, I just can't do this!" she ran out into the kitchen to tell them she was leaving right away.

**Out in the kitchen **

"Hiei I know you aren't up to this but you have to do it." Kurama pleaded and begged with the fire demon. "Hiei please-…"

"No, why should I?" Hiei was being stubborn, as always. "Well your Jagan might not be too happy about that you know." There was a twitch in his eye. _Shit, that's right…stupid third eye. _ Hiei glared at Kurama. "Hiei come on, she's pretty and I'm sure if your nice to her she'll be-…"

In a flash, Hiei's sword was at Yusuke's throat. "No one asked your opinion detective." He snarled. Yusuke gulped. "Okay…well…Kurama it's been great but Kuwabara and I have to go now…bye…" They snuck out the door and timidly waved to Hiei. "Psycho." Yusuke whispered.

Kurama pulled out a stool and ordered Hiei to sit. "Look, the situation isn't good for either of us, but we have to learn to make this work okay? So you are going to be as nice to Natsumi as possible or so help me Hiei I will tie you up and feed you to a dog!" That comment made Hiei straighten up but he didn't show it. "Yea, I guess…she's just so annoying."

"Hiei you haven't even had a conversation with her." Kurama walked over to his fridge and pulled out a tray of store bought sushi. "It's not impossible to talk to women, although sometimes it seems that way." The fox chuckled to himself and continued. "Just talk about anything, your interests, I'm sure she'll be interested. This food is for her, do you want to take it to her?"

"Do I have a choice?" Hiei asked, shifting uncomfortably on the stool.

Kurama smiled and simply answered. "No." Hiei gave Kurama a sarcastic smile and aggressively grabbed the tray and chopsticks. He took his sweet time getting to her door, and once he got there, it was flung open as she came tearing out of it. They almost ran into each other (I am not that mean) but stopped just short of it. They stared at each other for a moment as if the other was an alien. Finally Natsumi blurted out, "I can't stay here!" She waited desperately for Hiei to move but instead he shoved the tray into her arms. "Food." Was all he said before turning around and retreating to the kitchen. She blinked. "O-kay…"

Kurama was waiting eagerly for Hiei to return. He waited them to become friends if nothing else. When Hiei came around the corner Kurama was ready to bombard him with questions. "Well how did it go? What did she say? What happened? Tell me!" Hiei himself was eager to disappoint Kurama. "She said, 'I can't stay here.' And I said, 'Food.' Then I left."

"…HIEI! That's not what I meant! You have to actually say more than two words to her! GO back and try it again!"

"But…"

"NOW!" Several swear words were murmured under Hiei's breath as he involuntarily found himself traveling back to Natsumi's room. But what he was trying to tell Kurama was that Jagan told Hiei that it wanted Natsumi now, and Hiei quite frankly didn't.

"Koenma!" Botan wailed through the halls to find her pint sized master. "Oh where are you? Koenma! Come quickly!" She waited in silence and finally a faint voice was heard. "Botan?" Her eyes lit up. "Koenma! Come quick sir!" The toddler came flying down the hall and followed Botan into his office.

Botan turned on his office TV and showed Koenma what she was going crazy about. "See? These upper class Youkai have broken through the barrier! They are going after Natsumi!" Koenma rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "How many?"

"At least seven and they should be in Yusuke's city by tomorrow; Koenma what are we going to do? The Spirit Protector is nowhere near forming yet!" Koenma balled his fist. "Yes I know that Botan! Just calm down, Yusuke and the others can take care of this. Have a little faith!"

"Yes sir."

Koenma sulked down into his chair. Even if he told Botan to have faith, he didn't have much himself. "Koenma!" Ogre came bursting into the office dropping papers with every step. "Koenma! Seven Youkai have broken through the barrier and-…"

"Shut up ogre! We know that already. Go make yourself useful and drown." Ogre picked up the papers and rushed out the door. "Botan," Koenma kept his voice calm. "Have you found a way to make the Protector form faster?" Botan shook her head in sorrow. "No sir, I'm sorry, there's no way to speed up the process." Koenma sighed. "Then we just have to wait and see."

Natsumi stared at the sushi propped between her chopsticks. It didn't look poisoned. She tasted it with the tip of her tongue. It didn't taste poisoned either. So she popped it into her mouth and relished the taste. It was the first good food she had had in over a week. Just as she began to have her second piece, her door opened. She knew right away it was Hiei; Kurama would have knocked. She didn't look up though; she just stared at her sushi.

"I know that you know I am here, so look at me." He said sharply. She drifted her gaze slowly. She wanted to get to know Hiei, but she was afraid of him. "What is it?" she asked, in the sweetest voice possible. Hiei was a little shocked that she wasn't pissed. Then he realized he had to think of something to say to her. His Jagan inwardly screamed. Why was it demanding a human girl? Hiei shook the thought of pinning her on the bed and-

"Do you hate me or something?" Hiei darted his eyes to Natsumi. She had taken the initiative to speak and that had surprised him to some extent. Actually it intrigued him. "Not entirely. But you are a human and I have an obligation to loathe you." She nodded in agreement then she didn't seem as tense. She sprawled out on the bed and traced her finger along the satin sheets. "Well that's a relief," Natsumi giggled a little. "I thought you were planning to kill me or rape me." Hiei's eye twitched. Actually, that was his plan. He didn't speak but leaned against the walls in a leisurely manner. Her eyes bugged out and she shot up on the bed. "That wasn't your plan thought right…right!" Hiei let short laugh escape his lips and replied with, "Hn," Natsumi only balled her fists. _Well at least he is brutally honest. _

They were in silence for a few minutes and they could here Kurama talking to his mother on the phone. "Yes mother I know all the emergency numbers. No mother, I won't answer the door for any strangers. Yes mother I am very proud that you won this contest. Go have fun."

Natsumi looked around for anything to talk about. Something that Hiei might like. She noticed a Katana poking out from his cloak. "Hey, is that a Katana?" He nodded. "Wow, I used to have one of those. I did swordplay when I was seven, before my parents died." Hiei's eyes almost lit up. So a ningen could have good qualities it seemed. He pulled out the sword and walked over to the bed, he actually sat on it.

"What kind of steel?"

"Don't be so nosy."

"Sorry, when did you first pick up a sword?"

"I was only an infant."

"Wow, that young huh? Where are your parents?"

"Dead."

"Really, me too!" Hiei gave her an odd look. "Why are you so proud? Did they beat you?" She shook her head. "No, it's just; well they weren't the best parents in the world." Hiei sighed. _Neglectful parents; I should have known._

"So what happened to them?" Natsumi dropped her head. "I'd rather not say."

Hiei felt the sudden urge to soothe her. _Calm down Hiei, it's your Jagan. _"Understood." He managed to say. Natsumi hugged her legs to her chest and looked over at Hiei. "…Uh, thank you, I guess." _I feel more comfortable around him now. I don't think he wants to kill me anymore. Actually, he's kind of cute when his mad. _She got off the bed and gave Hiei a mischievous look. "What are you planning?" he demanded. "Read my thoughts and find out." She smirked. Hiei tried and suddenly found himself unable to enter her mind. He sat in awe for a moment, trying to decipher what was going on when a pillow came down on his head.

He looked up at his attacker, who was none other than Natsumi. She smiled. "Too slow." Hiei glared at her with those famed crimson eyes. "Hn, I'm not slow you insolent and put the damn pillow down." She whimpered. "Aw come on haven't you ever had a pillow fight before?" Hiei repeated the word in his head. _Pillow fight…_He rolled his eyes. "No, nor do I intend to."

"You're no fun." She yawned and glanced over at the clock. "Holy shit, it's after midnight!" Hiei was even in a bit of shock. He went into her room at ten, how could time have slipped away? "Ah well you know what they say, time flies when you're having fun." She said, but Hiei didn't get it. "What are you saying that I was having fun?" She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. Hiei immediately stiffened up. "Maybe you weren't but I was, so who the hell cares?" Hiei wasn't paying attention. Her hand; it was on his shoulder. Hiei's shoulder. He looked up at her. "Hey are you okay you like a little pale…"

Hiei had an urge that no youkai should ever have for a ningen. He stood up sharply and turned towards the door. "You should go to bed." Then he left. That set Natsumi off. _What the fuck? I spent two hours trying to be this guy's friend and he just blows me off? Oh my…erg! _She shoved her body under the covers and flipped off the lights.

Hiei pulled on his boots and slid open Kurama's kitchen window. "I hope you are going out there just to sleep." A voice said. Hiei turned to face Kurama. "What if I don't, Kitsune?" Kurama walked over to Hiei. "Then I will hunt you down like a dog." Hiei gulped. He knew quite well what Kurama was capable of. "Hn, fine I'll stay, but I am sleeping in a tree." Hiei jumped out the window to the tree across from it and Kurama followed. "You talked for quite a long time."

"So?" Kurama leaned his back against the trunk. "Well, what about?" Hiei folded his arms. "That's none of your business, since when were you so nosy?" Kurama walked back towards the house and began to climb in the window. He looked back up at Hiei and smiled. "So you aren't going to rape her then?" Then he shut the window before Hiei could slit his throat.

Hiei's eyes fluttered open at the sound of birds chirping. It was daybreak. He leaped out of his tree and went off somewhere. He knew what he wanted to do.

Natsumi's apartment was very easy to break into. She left her window open. Hiei climbed in and pulled a gray duffle bag off of her floor. The apartment was a mess and it was cramped. Not exactly home living but Hiei shrugged passed all that. He made his way to her dresser and began shoving her clothes into the duffle bag. A majority of them were black and red. Hiei let himself smile at her good taste. As Hiei opened the second drawer to her dresser he noticed the clothes in there were different. He picked up what Yusuke called a "bra" and "panties". He even ripped some posters she had off the wall. He began to roll them up and read the names as he went. He had never heard of them before. _Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, HIM, Tool, The Used, As I lay Dying, Nirvana, Jimmy Eat World, Green Day, Weezer, and the Sex Pistols…what the hell kind of name is that? _Hiei made a point to himself that every ningen was truly insane beyond comprehension.

Hiei picked up the bag and retreated out her window, but not before locking it. _That's all she would need, a pervert breaking in to rape her. _Then he realized that was his original plan. He cursed himself all the way back to Kurama's.

He looked at the window as if he wanted it to open by itself. But it wasn't going to. Hiei finally decided to just open the window to Natsumi's room and drop off her stuff. It was dark inside, and Hiei wondered if she was still asleep. _She better be grateful. _He hit the light switch and turned around to face the sleeping girl.

Only she wasn't there. Hiei lifted the covers and searched the entire bed, but she wasn't in bed or her room. He threw the bag on her bed and went out her door. _What if she left to go back to her apartment? _Hiei let a wave of terror wash over him. _Dammit what is wrong with that girl? Where the hell is she? _

_SSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH_

"…" Hiei heard distinct noises from the kitchen. He clutched the handle of his Katana and made his way to the kitchen. He poked his head around the corner and unsheathed his sword but he didn't see what he thought he would see. "What…are you doing?" Natsumi was on Kurama's table, leaning over something. She turned to face him. "Oh shit, you ruined the surprise! Uh, why are you pointing that at me?" Hiei realized his sword was at her throat and quickly sheathed it. "Hn, what are doing? What's this surprise you're talking about?" She held up a can of whipped cream. "I made pancakes!"

"Pancakes…? What the hell are pancakes?" Natsumi blinked and held up the plate. "You know pancakes and whipped cream?" (I don't know of any breakfast foods in Japan so pancakes will have to do) Hiei shook his head. "You've never had pancakes before!" She put more whipped cream on the pancake she had, and Hiei found out where his distinct noise had come from. He snarled at her. "You don't just get up and not tell people where you are!"

"Why were you worried about me?" Hiei hesitated at her question. Was he worried? "…N-no! I don't care, I was talking about Kurama." She looked around. "Kurama is still asleep…Hiei…"

_Great here it comes, she is going to laugh her ass off…_Natsumi handed him a plate. "Would you like some pancakes?" Hiei was taken off guard. He thought for sure she was going to laugh at him. Hiei took the plate and stared at the round things that were on it. "They're edible…" Natsumi assured him. Meanwhile Kurama came waltzing out his room. He yawned before greeting them. "Aw good morning everyone…eh…Natsumi did you make these?" She nodded and handed him a plate. Kurama accepted them graciously. "You didn't have to do that you know."

"Well, you're letting me stay here and stuff, so the least I could do was make breakfast." As the three began to sit down Kurama's door opened and two boys came in. "Yusuke, Kuwabara, how nice of you to join us. Natsumi made pancakes and whipped cream." The boys eagerly accepted them. "Sweet I didn't know you could cook." Yusuke said, half complimenting her and half surprised. "I live alone and I can't afford take-out, I had to do something."

They are in silence for about a minute. Yusuke was wolfing down pancakes like he hadn't eaten in weeks and Hiei seemed to be enjoying the pancakes even if he wouldn't admit it. Kuwabara only stared at the whipped cream that was piled on them. "So…this is good right? It tastes okay?" he asked, poking it with his utensil. "Shut up and eat it you useless tub of lard."

Everyone stopped eating and looked over at Hiei. The clinging and clanging of utensils and plates or the chewing of pancakes could not be heard. Natsumi finally broke the silence by bursting into laughter, followed by Yusuke and Kurama. "Hey stop laughing! Shut up you guys! Hiei you are so dead! Stupid dwarf!" Of course no one stopped laughing. Hiei just continued eating and Kuwabara finally brought himself to taste the pancakes, which he had ten of.

Everyone had finally finished eating and Natsumi got up and began to back to her bedroom. "Where are you going?" Kurama asked. "To get changed." The fox turned his gaze to the plates laid out on the table. "Aren't you going to clean up first?" She thought about it for a moment before answering. "What do I look like, a maid?" Then she winked before heading into her room.

Yusuke grabbed his plated and handed it to Kurama. "Wow Hiei, she's some girl. Keiko would never make me pancakes, I don't think…" Hiei gritted his teeth. "Yusuke I require that you shut up now." Yusuke held his hands up in defense. "All I'm saying is she-…"

"Did you hear that?" Kurama gently placed his hand over Yusuke's mouth and turned everyone's attention the window. In a flash Hiei was by the window and wasn't surprised at what he saw. "There are some Youkai outside…" They all ran over to him. "How many?" Kurama asked.

Hiei did a quick head count and murmured, "Shit," before continuing. "Looks like five. I'd better get Natsumi."

Phew, finally I'm done with chapter two. I'm so happy! Please review. Good, bad? Should I burn for writing such horrible stories? Here is a quick preview for chapter 3:

Everyone starts to fight the Youkai and get a really big surprise! Also, Natsumi decides to take Hiei to a theme park and only bad things can come of that. Really bad things.


	3. Misadventures in Funland

**Disclaimer: **No, but seriously, when did you ever think that I did?

**Reviewer Responses: **

Smirking Arrogance: Well I'm glad to know you will kill anyone who doesn't like my story! And yes I do like pickles so I gladly accept. (Munches pickle)

HieiFan666: Are you serious? Talk about creepy, I should definitely read it so I don't copy by mistake, that would be bad, thank you.

Sara-chan10: I just love keeping people in suspense…o.O don't ask me why!

SilverRyu: Yea I have a habit of doing that…maybe it's because I like to leave people on the edge of their seats?

Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: Oh so you like long chapters? That's good I was worried they bored people. I'm glad you think I have a wonderful story! I have a Beta so spelling/grammar should be tip top. The only time Hiei would ever be OOC is if his Jagan was going funky. And I'm against cliché plot twists, so no worries!

Hiyuri Jaganshi: (Cries…) it's so sad, I know. I love Hiei too! So rice and eggs for breakfast; cool thanks a lot! Do you know any other foods?

BlackSammicat15: You really think they are perfect for each other? Sweet, and don't I know you? Just kidding! You review a lot of my stories, mucho gracias!

Faith: Yes…why do I torture Hiei so much? He should know it's for the best though!

Shadow-Seeker-13: Hoorah for awesome chapters. I'm very excited myself…I don't know why though…

Happy New Year everyone, don't make a resolution!!!

**I F. W I S H E S. W E R E. Y O U K A I.**

**Chapter 3-Misadventures in Funland **

Natsumi looked at the duffle bag on her bed and waited for it to move. She walked towards it and opened the strings. "All my stuff…" she pulled everything out and jumped up and down. "Did Hiei bring all this?" she pulled a pair of black jeans, a white sleeveless shirt and a belt with a batman buckle out and changed into them quickly. Right when she was pulling on some socks, Hiei came bursting in.

"Hiei you brought all this right? Thank you so-…" Hiei grabbed her wrist. "We don't have any time for that now, we're being attacked." Natsumi got a lump in her throat just thinking about her last two attackers. "They're outside now but who knows when they'll try to get in." She stopped short. "They? How many are outside?"

Kurama pulled a rose out from his hair. "Why are they just standing outside?" As he tried to figure out what their plan of attack was, Hiei and Natsumi came back into the picture. They were all piled by the window, deciding what to do. "Looks like we'll just have to fight them…" he turned to Natsumi. "You can use a sword right?" She gaped at him. "No! I haven't picked up a sword in eight years I could do it now!"

Hiei pulled out a spare sword (which…I'm just assuming he has) and shoved it at her. "Would you prefer death?" She shook her head and took the sword. Kurama turned and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't fret, we can take them. You don't have to fight if you don't want to."

Natsumi gave a quick glance to Hiei. "That's okay, I think I'll manage." She gripped tight to the sword but her hands were coated with a layer of sweat. _I can do this…I can fight…oh who am I kidding, I'm going to die…_

She felt a hand touch her shoulder and she jumped. It was Hiei. "You'll be fine, just remember what you know," she smiled with a small sense of confidence until Hiei added, "If you remember anything at all…" She frowned.

"My mother is coming home in a few weeks, I'm not going to let them destroy the house, let's go outside and just fight them." Kurama seemed anxious. He turned the simply rose into a whip, much to Natsumi's surprise and Yusuke and Kuwabara got ready as well. "That sounds like a good plan." Yusuke agreed with the fox and they moved outside.

"Stay to the side unless we need you." Natsumi stopped short at Hiei's comment. "I thought you wanted me to fight." Hiei's Jagan started to glow. "Just stay away unless we need you to help okay?" She nodded and took cover by a bush, still holding tight to the Katana. She was inwardly smiling because she knew Hiei was worried. _At least they don't need me to fight…_

Three of the Youkai were as big as two Kuwabara's. The other two were about as tall as Yusuke, and all of them were ugly. Natsumi gulped. _Can they really take them? _She hadn't really seen them fight before. Actually, she almost didn't see them fight. Right before her eyes, one of the larger Youkai fell to his knees and immediately blood began pouring from his stomach.

"W-When did they attack?" she managed to spit out. Then she noticed blood on Hiei's Katana. She rubbed her eyes. "How could I have missed that? I was watching the whole time…how fast is he?"

Kurama decided that for the sake of any civilians that might pass by, they should end it quickly. "Yusuke, use your shotgun on the other two; me and Hiei will take the smaller ones." Kuwabara growled at his lack of involvement. "Hey! What can I do?" Kurama put his hand on Kuwabara's shoulder.

"Make sure Natsumi doesn't get hurt. I would have Hiei do it but well he seems too involved." Kuwabara silently hated Hiei more before retreating by the bushes. Natsumi tugged on his pant leg. "Hey Kuwabara, how fast is Hiei?" The carrot topped boy gritted his teeth. "Like…really frikkin fast."

Yusuke pulled his right fist and back yelled the words, "Shot gun!" before emitting blue energy from his hand. It was amazing, to Natsumi that is. They were five minutes into the fight and three had already died. Yusuke's shot gun got the second two and only the big two were left. Kurama and Hiei took the last two down like they were cutting pie. Kurama was more graceful at fighting than the other three. It was like he was doing ballet. "Why are they sending such weak demons to fight me?" Hiei kicked one of the dead Youkai and sheathed his sword.

Everyone signaled that it was clear to go inside so Natsumi got up from the bushes and immediately had had spasm. "Oh my god, you are so fast! How did you do that? Where did you get those powers?!" Kurama and Yusuke chuckled but Yusuke was in the mood to boast. "I'm just extra powerful!"

Hiei glared daggers at him. "…Eh…it's a long story." Yusuke finished sheepishly. Natsumi jumped on the stool by Kurama's counter. "So when did you learn you had those…hey Kurama are you okay?" The fox shook his head and walked over to her. "I sense two more."

"What!? Where?!" Kurama looked around the house suspiciously. "They are somewhere in this house, but their spirit energy is very weak." Everyone glanced around for any Youkai but they didn't see any. "Kurama maybe you're mistaken," Kuwabara suggested. Hiei shook his head. "No I sense it too." He walked over to Natsumi and didn't take his eyes off of her. "It's coming from you." She hopped off the stool and pointed to herself. "…Me?" Kurama and Hiei looked her over carefully. Finally Kurama pulled something off her shoulder that resembled lint. "Here they are; tracking youkai."

"Tracking…youkai…?" she asked, confused beyond al reason. Kurama nodded. "This is how they found us; these must have clung to you to tell them where you were. I'll kill them right away." Natsumi brushed her shoulder off. "You mean…those were on me!? Shit and I didn't even know it!" (So the surprise wasn't big…it was small, whatever!)

Yusuke and Kuwabara breathed a sign of relief and went to Kurama's couch to watch some TV. "Bakas…" Hiei muttered. Natsumi actually thought TV wouldn't be such a bad idea at the moment. She made her way to the couch when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Natsumi, may I speak with you in my room?" She nodded.

"Am I in trouble?"

"No of course not; come with me." She followed the fox into the other room but Hiei was watching and getting suspicious. He wanted to listen in but his Jagan sent a vibe searing through his body that said he shouldn't. He hated it but he obeyed it.

Kurama's room was very feminine much to Natsumi's surprise. The sheets were a light green and the dresser and other furniture was a faded wood color. Not to mention the assortment of plants by his window sill. "So…what do you want to talk about?"

"Hiei,"

"Oh…"

"It's nothing bad but, you and Hiei really have to try to make this work."

Natsumi turned her head thoughtfully. "Make what work?"

"The situation,"

"Okay, I wasn't aware we had a 'situation'."

"I don't mean it like that; I mean that you and Hiei should get to know each other. Do you want to get to know Hiei at all?"

"Well yea but he's…how should I put this…not the most social person in the world."

"Yes I know, but his Jagan is…acting very strange. So you should two should try to just get along for the sake of everyone's sanity."

"Well…"

"Yes what is it?"

Natsumi scratched her leg with her foot. "Well…I don't know I kind of thought maybe I could you know…take him to a park or something…or is that a stupid idea?"

Kurama got excited all of a sudden. "No! That's a great idea! Hiei will definitely go!" Natsumi backed up from Kurama, she was afraid he might hug her.

"Won't he say no?" Kurama shook his head. "He'll say yes, trust me just ask him." Natsumi, with her burst of confidence, went outside to ask Hiei. Kurama knew Hiei would say yes or at least his Jagan would. Kurama inwardly laughed at his genius.

The chocolate haired girl walked into the living area and saw Yusuke going crazy on the couch. "Come on pin him down! You suck!" She twirled her purple tips in her hand and looked around for Hiei who was, surprisingly enough, sitting on the window sill. His face wasn't too happy looking and she suddenly forgot everything she was supposed to say to him.

"H-Hey, Hiei," He turned and looked at her, his features still rough. "Uh, so I was wondering if um…you uh…"

"Out with it woman!" She jumped a little and continued really fast. "Iwaswonderingifyouwanttogotoaparkwithme!" She obviously caught Hiei off guard because his expression was a little exasperated. "Uh…" was all he managed to say. "Well…do you?" Hiei's Jagan began to glow. He meant to say no, he wanted to say no, but he realized that he had said, "Hn, fine." Instead. He cursed silently.

Kurama came in and Natsumi turned around and winked at him. He only smiled back. Hiei got up off the sill and forced himself out the door. Yusuke and Kuwabara were too busy to notice they were leaving but Kurama gave a little wave as they went off.

"I can't believe I am going to a park with you." Hiei groaned, as he slammed the door to Kurama's house. She stuck her index finger up. "You said yes, there's no backing out."

Hiei gritted his teeth. "I don't like parks." She smiled menacingly. "You might like this one."

---

Hiei blinked twice and read the red and blue neon sign. "Funland?" he turned his head to Natsumi. "I told you it was a park, a theme park!" She said, as the clear glass doors slid open. Hiei's nose was immediately filled with the smell of sweets, children, and mold. He shivered. "I don't want to spend the remainder of my day inside."

"But, most of the park is outside." Hiei sighed, Natsumi knew what he was getting at, and she was just being stubborn. It was clever for a human, Hiei decided. He examined the surroundings before entering. Lights were blinking furiously around him with beeps and laughter to complete it. The room looked like it was passed being demolished; popcorn and junior mints were scattered across the floor. He didn't like it but it was somehow intriguing to him.

He stopped gathering 'data' when a hand grabbed his own. "Come on; let's con kids out of their food." Hiei went to pull his hand away when he suddenly felt…different; like he was actually enjoying human contact. He didn't hold her hand back, but he humored her by letting her hold onto his hand. (Excuse the sappiness)

Two hotdogs, one cotton candy, and three milkshakes later, Natsumi had convinced Hiei that Funland was actually relatively fun. Natsumi licked the sugar of her fingers. "So, do you want to go on a ride?" Hiei was too occupied with the milkshake. "How do they melt the sweet snow like that…?"

"Hiei, earth to Hiei…do you want to go on a ride?" The three eyed boy looked up at her. "A what?" She rested her head on her hand and sighed. "You don't know anything about ningens do you? A ride is one of the many ways we entertain ourselves." She motioned for him to follow her outside where it smelt, much to Hiei's surprise, worse. They stopped at a snake looking machine with a car moving on it. "What is this?"

"This…is a roller coaster."

---

"Oh Koenma! Look at it! Come look!" Botan forcefully picked Koenma up and carried him down the hallway. "Botan! What are you doing? Put me down right now! Botan!" She blue haired girl didn't listen to him, she just kept cheering, "It has a tale, it has a tale!" Koenma could only try to keep from having whiplash as she ran into his office.

She placed the toddler down on his desk and pulled a silver bowl up. "Koenma look! It grew a little tale! Just like a tadpole!" Koenma blinked before exploding. "Botan what in the name of the Spirit World are you babbling about!?" She gasped. "Koenma I am ashamed!"

Botan began to pace around in anger while Koenma tried to wait patiently for her to explain. She finally spoke, "Have you forgotten about the Spirit Protector! It grew a tale!" Koenma thought for a moment. "…Oh that! Really it did?"

Botan groaned and shoved the silver bowl in his face. "See?" Koenma clapped a little. "It still has six days to go before it totally forms you know."

"I know but I was so excited I just had to tell you!"

"Botan…"

"Koenma maybe it is forming faster!"

"Botan…"

"It looks like a little tadpole!"

"BOTAN!"

"…Yes?" She turned and widened her violet eyes. "Botan I understand your excited but just calm down!"

"Yes sir…" Koenma moved the silver bowl aside. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think you gave me whiplash." Botan growled at him before bowing and leaving.

---

Hiei poked the metal rails with his index finger. "It doesn't look very safe and the ningen operating it smells like cabbage." Natsumi rolled her eyes. "They all small like cabbage Hiei, just get on its fun trust me."

"No," She gave him puppy eyes. "So you don't trust me now?"

"I didn't say that." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Then get on the roller coaster. Take a chance with me." Hiei considered her offer. He should have said no, but he said yes. He seemed to be saying yes a lot and he didn't like it…he didn't think.

"Keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times, enjoy." The fat man's monotone voice cracked over the megaphone before he pulled a lever that jerked the cars forward. Natsumi glanced at Hiei then glanced back. "Are you nervous?" she asked.

Hiei snorted at her. "Hn, of course not…what's going on now?" Natsumi kept a straight face while explaining. "We're going up the hill, and then it's going to get really fast once we go down." It didn't sound bad, Hiei waited until it got to the top. "Don't scream," Natsumi clung the handle bar, "Why would I scream…WOO!"

Hiei almost lost his breath going down; the turned immediately and his head almost fell off. There were twists and turns and upside down loops. Natsumi screamed the whole time, and Hiei only crossed his arms.

They finally got off and Natsumi wanted to get on again but Hiei stopped her. "You're going to throw up all that crap you ate." She pulled some change out of her pocket and began to count it. "Don't tell me that you didn't think that was fun."

"No it wasn't." She rolled her eyes. "You are no fun sometimes, just lighten up Hiei." He crossed his arms again. "I'm fine, let's leave I think I'm starting to smell human."

"Fine, alright let's go…wait!"

"What now?" Natsumi pointed to a claw in a box with little stuffed animals in it. "I rock at this game; I can win you something so it won't be total loss."

"Unless it's a quicker death, that machine can offer me nothing."

"You're very funny Hiei…" She ignored his comment and placed two tokens in the machine. She moved a joystick and the claw immediately moved. Hiei, arms still crossed, moved closer to watch. Natsumi moved the claw down and grabbed what looked like a black teddy bear. It moved to a hole where it was dropped in. Natsumi removed it from a slot and handed it to Hiei. "See, it's a bear."

"…I don't want it. Keep it for yourself." That was the last straw. Natsumi walked in record fast speed out of Funland and into the setting sun. Hiei didn't see that he did anything wrong, and followed after her. "What the hell is your-…?"

"Don't talk to me Hiei."

"What's your problem?"

"My problem is…is that you are a jack ass! I told Kurama I would make the best of this and you just had to go and be a stickler! What the hell is wrong with you? I don't care if your Jagan eye thing is fucking up! I have my own life, it's fucking up my life too! Don't you think about anyone but yourself? Forget it let's just go home you obviously don't care!" She started walking faster, and Hiei started walking faster too. Natsumi really hoped that Kurama's house would come up quicker.

---

Kurama turned the page to his book, which was getting rather interesting. "I wonder where Hiei and Natsumi are…" Yusuke howled with laughter. "You know…out doing…stuff." Kuwabara laughed too. They hadn't moved from the couch, a wrestle mania marathon was on. "I'm just hoping everything went-…"

The door suddenly flew open and Natsumi stormed in, clinging to the arm of her bear so hard it almost fell off. "…okay…" Kurama finished, before throwing his book down. "How did it go?"

"Fine it was just fine. Really great." Her tone was extremely sarcastic. Kurama could only guess that it didn't go well. "I'm going to bed, goodnight and good riddance." She stormed off in the hallway right as Hiei was coming in. "What did you do?" Kurama demanded, hounding the spiky haired boy with angry questions. "What did you do to her!?" Hiei could see he wasn't getting out of this; he sighed and began to explain.

Natsumi stuffed the bear under her bed and shrunk onto her bed. "What a complete ass hole. I hate him…he's so stupid!" She picked up her pajamas and considered going to bed right now, when someone knocked on her door. (You know, I could end it here but I won't, because I love you all I let you see what happens)

"…Kurama?" There was a silence before a voice came. "No," It was Hiei. She played dumb. "Who is it?"

"Hiei," She sighed loudly so he could hear but didn't answer. He knocked on the door again. "Can I come in?"

"I'm tired come back tomorrow."

"I'm coming in," Hiei opened the door much to Natsumi's dismay and walk in. "What do you want now?" she snapped. "We need to talk." He said, much to both of their surprise. Natsumi was obviously not in the mood to talk. "What do you want to talk about?"

"…U-Us."

"What us?"

"I mean what happened."

"Refresh my memory Hiei what exactly happened?" he could tell she was playing a game with him to make him agitated and it was working pretty well. "You know what happened." She crossed her legs to go with her arms. "Yea so what about it? I know what happened, you know what happened, so what do you want?"

Hiei was pissed. This wasn't easy for him. "I want…to say…"

"Go on…"

"That I'm…s-sorry! Okay?"

She wasn't satisfied. "Do you mean that or is that your Jagan talking?" Hiei felt impulsive and took a seat on her bed before continuing. He couldn't believe he was going to say this. "I mean it. That I'm sorry that is. I am…sorry. Natsumi, I'm sorry." (Pardon the sappiness and the OOCness) Natsumi shot her head up at him. "What?"

"I said I'm-…"

"No, my name. You just said my name."

"…Yea."

"You've never called me by name before…"

"So…? What's wrong?" Natsumi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Nothing's wrong…" _Oh my God I sound like a school girl I need to shut up. _(Thank you for the inspiration Inuyasha) They both eyed each other suspiciously. "You're crazy." Hiei finally said. "I know…"

"Well…I'm going to bed." She finished quickly.

"Me too."

"Okay then."

"Alright."

"Okay."

"Yep…"

"Yea…oh hey! Here's your bear." She pulled the black teddy bear out from under her bed and handed it to Hiei, who reluctantly took it. He wasn't sure he wanted to be seen with a stuffed animal. He flicked off her light and began to exit. "'Night, Hiei." Hiei paused before responding. "Hn, goodnight…Natsumi."

"Shut up…"

Hiei shut the door and retreated to his tree with his…bear. In the hall, Natsumi could here Kuwabara say, "Hiei are you carrying a bear?" And Hiei responded, "Fuck you…Kuwabaka."

Lalalala…I finally finished that chapter. I had so many distractions! (Like cheese puffs) Hm let me see…Oh yea! Reviews are really nice I like reviews…they're good for your soul so you should review too; I have already had so many kick ass people review!

Next Chapter:

Natsumi decides she really needs to take a shower, too bad Hiei's there… (!)

Kuwabara gets them all into a club. With alcohol.

Quite a few people are going to get drunk. (Wink, wink)

Here is a bit from chapter 4:

"Kurama, where is your shower?" The fox dropped the book he was holding immediately. "My…my what?"

"You know a shower, with water and soap? You do have one right?" Kurama picked his book up and dusted it off. "Uh, uh…y-yes of course! A shower! You can take a shower, of course! Go right ahead it's upstairs to the right." Natsumi thanked him and started upstairs while Kurama shook before grabbing onto Hiei. "You aren't aloud upstairs!" he spat.

I won't spoil anything else. It's not…erotic though don't worry about that. (Evil smile; not too evil) TTFN!


	4. Such a Drag

**Disclaimer: **No.

**IMPORTANT: **Sorry for the long(er) wait than usual, I have exams…! Bleh!

**Reviewer Responses: **

Smirking Arrogance: It is fun to torture Hiei…! Well, the only reason I have been getting the chapters out fast is the whole vacation…which sadly is over now. I get better every time? I feel special! I would love another pickle (munches another pickle) and actually I don't like mustard, I had a sad mustard incident when I was smaller…very tragic and I can never look at mustard the same way again…(goes off to cry)

AnimeFreaks13: Cheese is such a wonderful thing isn't it? At least sounding older can get you into clubs? Haha…okay I'm done.

HieiFan666: I was hoping their relationship was progressing as I had hoped…thank you! My mind is never in a safe place, I'm sure everyone else was thinking the same thing! Yea Kuwabara…you just wait for that club. Trust me.

Amaya: Chapter, chapter, chapter!

Sara-Chan10: I only do it because it…aw hell I just love to do it! O.o

DarkGoddess29: Hiei hit you over the head?! (Whacks Hiei with a day old pastry) Haha! That'll teach him.

Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: Oh please don't go insane! I can't fit everyone in my closet…I mean…uh… (Types faster) Updating…heheh…

Hiyuri Jaganshi: Your own penname!? Hurray! Thank you for looking up the food but don't go through too much trouble on my account. It is much appreciated though!

Shadow-Seeker13: I know right? Hiei is not the type of guy who goes to those types of places…but in my mind, he does.

Green Tea Leaf: Thank you! I'm glad you luv my work!

BlackSammicat15: Everyone is wondering how he gets them into a club, and I tell you now, it is quite on the funny side.

Ryu: I'm glad you like my story but I'm a bit confused on your request. Can you reword it or be more specific?

**I F. W I S H E S. W E R E. Y O U K A I.**

**Chapter 4-Such a Drag**

Natsumi grabbed a strand of her hair and took a whiff of it. It was her second morning in Kurama's house (Five days till something forms!!!!) and she hadn't showered yet. "Eww…" She pulled aside her bed sheets and went downstairs to find Kurama.

Hiei positioned himself comfortably on the window sill and stared out the glass at the stuffed black bear sitting in his tree. "She isn't up yet." Kurama was reading a book on the couch. "Relax, she's just tired. Calm down Hiei."

"I am calm." The fire youkai snapped. Kurama fidgeted on the couch. "Of course you are Hiei…my mistake." Natsumi entered then, and spied Kurama. "There you are." She whispered.

"Where are Yusuke and Kuwabara?" she asked. "They leave once all my food is gone or nothing is on TV." Kurama chuckled. "Oh…"

"Kurama, where is your shower?" The fox dropped the book he was holding immediately. "My…my what?"

"You know a shower, with water and soap? You do have one right?" Kurama picked his book up and dusted it off. "Uh, uh…y-yes of course! A shower! You can take a shower, of course! Go right ahead it's upstairs to the right." Natsumi thanked him and started upstairs while Kurama shook before grabbing onto Hiei. "You aren't aloud upstairs!" he spat. Hiei blinked before yelling. "What the fuck are you talking about?!"

Kurama remained calm and explained. "I know you Hiei, I know you very well and I am telling you now, you are not aloud upstairs until Natsumi is out of the shower; understood?"

"Hn," Hiei continued to stare out the window and Kurama felt that it was okay to return to his book.

The water pierced her skin like needles at first but warmed up soon after. She slung the tan towel over the shower bar and stepped in. _Man…I must smell horrible. _She examined the line of shampoos and conditioners Kurama had. She picked the one that smelt like fruits and lathered it in. Natsumi felt cleaner by the time she put the conditioner in. As she rinsed her hair clean she couldn't help but wonder what Kurama was so jittery about. _Strange guy…_

She turned the dial and shut the water off before searching around the steamed bathroom for her towel. She dried off and wrapped it tightly around her. The towel was made for a male, it was a little short but she made it a respectable length. She opened the bathroom door and trekked down the hallway to go to her room. In mid walk she stopped and turned the left only to see…

Kurama tapped his bookmark on the edge of the pages absentmindedly when it slipped out of his hand. "Hiei would you pick that up for me?" Kurama didn't move his eyes from reading. "Hiei…" Kurama sighed and bent down to pick it up. He proceeded to scold Hiei. "You know even if you are mad you could still have picked it up it's not like your arm is broken…Hiei…"

The fox finally looked up at Hiei but Hiei wasn't there. The window sill was empty and the fire youkai was nowhere is sight. "Hiei…? Dammit…Hiei!" He jumped up and headed upstairs.

"Christ Hiei don't sneak up on people like that! You're like a cat you know that?" Hiei was leisurely leaning on the wall, his hands shoved in his pockets and his eyes scanning the floor. Cold water was dripping onto the rug and she decided to keep going to her room. "Wait." Natsumi turned around to face Hiei.

"Yea, what do you want?"

"I'm just proving something to myself, that's all."

"Uh…" Hiei looked up at Natsumi, who was lost completely by what he had said. Hiei was just proving to himself that he could control his Jagan; he wasn't going to pounce like everybody said. He was in control.

Or so he thought.

"What exactly are you trying to prove to yourself?" She asked, facing him completely. Hiei didn't answer. He let his eyes travel the distance from her feet to her head, examining every part of her body, trying to figure out what his Jagan found so alluring about her. He didn't see anything at all, so why did he feel weak? Hiei tried to deny it but any moment now he would lose control of his movements. He didn't know what would happen after that.

"Hiei are you okay, you look a little warm…" She took a step towards him and was suddenly shoved back three feet into the wall. Hiei had her by the shoulders. Hiei's face was blank and it made her shiver. "H-Hiei…what the hell are you doing!"

"I can't help it…" he had pounced. He looked up at her like he was sorry. _Oh shit, what is he going to do? _"I don't understand what my Jagan finds so incredibly tempting about you, but I have to satisfy its demands."

"What…? What are you talking about? Just tell it to go away! Please, let go!" She struggled to break free but it didn't seem to be doing any good. Hiei's Jagan started to glow a faint black that grew stronger with each passing second. "Hiei!"

Natsumi and Hiei turned their heads to the sides where Kurama was standing. "Hiei let go…" He obeyed and stared at Natsumi like he couldn't remember moving towards her. "Are you alright?" Kurama asked. She nodded slightly.

"We need to talk, don't you think?"

Natsumi threw on a t-shirt and jeans before joining Kurama and Hiei in the kitchen. "Dammit Hiei, you were trying to prove what? That's stupid! You are obviously not in control!"

"Hn," Natsumi knocked on the counter to let them know she was there. "How do you feel?" Kurama asked, pulling out a stool.

"Calm down it's not like I got shot or anything. I'm fine." Kurama tapped his hand on the counter. He didn't agree. "Yes well if some of us didn't try to prove things that they cant prove to themselves, we wouldn't have this problem."

Hiei crossed his arms but Natsumi didn't think they had one. "We don't have a problem, okay I admit I was a little freaked out by that whole…thing but it's not that big of a deal…right?" Kurama pulled eggs and rice out of his fridge and set them on the table. "I suppose that is true to some extent. You two are in a weird situation."

Natsumi eagerly took the breakfast food. "Yea but we don't _have _mate."

"No you don't, you should definitely stick around until this thing is resolved however."

"Of course, and I can just date whoever I want?"

"What?" Hiei suddenly piped up from the corner. The two turned their heads to him. Natsumi smirked slightly. "Don't worry Hiei I'll give you a picture of me so you can grope it whenever you want."

Kurama pursed his lips to keep from laughing but Hiei did not find it funny. "You bitch!" He jumped up to hurt her when Kurama's door shot open. They could hear the distant singing, "The boys are back in town, the boys are back in town!"

Everyone immediately new it was Yusuke and Kuwabara. "You could make an effort to knock you know…" Kurama stated as a matter-of-factly. The two shrugged before Kuwabara went into spontaneous dancing. Everyone else could only watch him in question of his sanity. "Kuwa…bara…are you okay?" Kurama asked. Yusuke jumped in to speak but Kuwabara hit him over the head. "So guess what guys? My friend's dad works at this club and he said we could all get in for free!"

Natsumi ejected from her stool and grabbed the boy's shirt. "A club?! With alcohol!?" Kuwabara only nodded in satisfaction. Natsumi started to cheer with excitement. "Woohoo, I can't believe it! That's great, when do we go?"

"Tonight at eight." The girl turned her eager emerald eyes to Kurama who was still trying to gather this all in. "…A club with alcohol? Well…I suppose…" He stared into Natsumi's glossed eyes and Kuwabara and Yusuke's hopeful faces. He crumbled. "Alright let's go, Hiei will you join us?"

"Hn, I suppose I might as well."

Kuwabara and Yusuke exchanged a high five. "We'll just hang out here until eight then okay?" Kurama rolled his eyes but let them stay. Yusuke and Kuwabara took their usual place on the couch as Natsumi began to retreat back to her room. "Hiei aren't you coming?" The crimson eyed boy stared at her. "What?" She sighed. "I'm not done talking to you yet."

_Bi-polar much…_Hiei thought to himself; just five minutes ago she was making fun of him. He followed anyway, intrigued as usual. That was one trait about Natsumi he didn't mind, she kept him guessing.

As Hiei entered Natsumi's room he could see that she had taken the liberty of hanging up all her posters and throwing her clothes everywhere. It was a sty, not what Hiei expected from a girl. He was hesitant to walk in her room. He didn't feel comfortable after the shower incident. "You can come in I swear nothing on the floor will bite you." She smiled slightly. "Hn," Hiei entered her room still with caution and keeping his distance.

"So…what did you want?"

"Do you mind if I'm not…er…loyal?"

"What?"

"You know what I mean, in the kitchen when I said I would date other boys; you sort of…had a weird look on your face."

"I'm fine."

"You're not being very honest…does it piss you off? I won't if you don't want me to." Hiei was still in slight shock by all this. Him, care? No it was just not possible.

"I mean it, I don't care." But he did, and he didn't know why. He knew that it wasn't his Jagan this time. (Inconspicuous wink...hooray for Hiei! He's getting emotions!) Hiei figured he could leave now but before he had a chance to move, Natsumi popped a strange question.

"So what do you want to do?" Hiei blinked. "What?"

Natsumi repeated the question. "You're an odd one you know that?" Hiei answered.

"What now? I only asked what you wanted to do."

"But just ten minutes ago you were trying to make fun of me…what the hell is up with that woman?"

"Okay I have a name, you seemed to remember it last night and it was a joke. You know, haha, laugh it up? I was kidding with you!" Hiei narrowed his eyes at her. "But…I can see you don't like that so I won't do it again…" she added quickly. Then she asked for the third time, "What do you want to do?" Hiei darted his eyes around the room. "Nothing."

"Okay then."

"Fine."

"Fine…"

"I'm going."

"Okay then," Natsumi got up and headed towards her door. "What are you doing?" Hiei asked, as she got closer. "I'm going outside…is that okay with you?"

Hiei snarled at himself. He sounded like a complete idiot. "Hn, its fine. I don't care." The both glared daggers at each other before exiting. Kurama from around the corner, laughed silently. He found it funny that two people could not bring themselves to tell each other what they were thinking.

**7:50 p.m.**

Natsumi swung open the drawers on the dresser and searched for something to wear. She hadn't gotten so caught up in watching wrestle mania with Yusuke and Kuwabara that she lost track of time. She wondered where Hiei went; she hadn't seen him since that morning. There was a knock on her door. "Are you ready?" Kurama asked politely. "Almost!" she lied.

Finally she found something that struck interest. It was a red tube top (God forbid…) with a chain that clasped the collar area of the shirt and turned into a choker at her neck. To top it off she pulled out a black skirt and boots. "I'm a slut…I look like a slut-…"

"Yea you do." Natsumi shrieked and jumped around to see Hiei at her window. "What the fuck was that?! You scared me! Don't peek on girls while their changing!"

"Relax, I just got here." She sighed in relief and opened her window all the way so he could enter. "I really look like a slut huh?"

"Hn, it was joke, you know haha, laugh it up?" Hiei had a wide smirk on his face. Natsumi couldn't help but laugh. "Very funny Hiei, you ready?"

"Hn," She took it as yes and the two exited her room before she immediately had a spasm. "Okay let's go get drunk!" The boys began to sing again while Hiei followed behind, pitying at them all.

Kurama repeated the sign name to himself. "R4?" Kuwabara nodded. He showed the bouncer a slip of paper and the big man let them all in. Their noses were met with the smell of cheap perfume. There was a slight fog in the club, as they moved further in they all gasped in horror. Yusuke, Kurama, Natsumi, and Hiei turned to Kuwabara with a look that could kill. "Kuwabara…this is…a DRAG CLUB! BAKA!" Kuwabara shrugged in defense. "I didn't know! I swear!"

"I'm going home." Natsumi stated. Kuwabara's hopes were crushed. "But I paid good money for this." Yusuke turned to his friend. "I thought you said it was free?"

"Well not entirely, I put down some money to get you guys in…" Everyone immediately felt bad (With the exception of Hiei) and decided to take a seat by the runway, where Tina Turner was waiting to seat them. "Welcome to R4, the hottest drag club in town, what can I get you boys and beautiful young lady?"

Despite the fact that everyone who worked at the club was dressed like a woman, they were all very nice. In fact, they gave Natsumi free drinks. "Do we have to stick money in their man bras?" Yusuke complained. Natsumi suddenly burst into laughter for a good five minutes. "I think you've had enough…" Kurama suggested. She pulled her glass away. "I'm fine…go away…nasty fox."

Hiei sniffed the alien drink. It was strong but he thought it might make the night go by faster, so he guzzled it quickly.

It only took one hour for the entire gang to be drunk, except for Kurama. Even Hiei was letting himself hiccup occasionally. "Hey M'am…sir! Top me off please!" Yusuke slurred, holding his half full glass up so it spilt on everyone. Natsumi made her way over to the bar to get another drink when there was a tap on her bare shoulder. "Are you Natsumi?" She spread her arms out on the bar. "That's me the only one…hic…" The boy laughed before continuing. "My name is Takashi; I'm the one who got you all in. I'm Kuwabara's friend."

"Oh right…you…that are…great stuff. I'm so proud…of it." He helped her onto a stool. "I think you should lay off the alcohol. He turned to a man dressed like Cyndi Lauper behind the counter. "A cup of coffee for the lady please."

Hiei pulled himself into a chair and sulked in it. Kuwabara was dancing, Yusuke was…dancing as well and Kurama was drinking a virgin margarita. Hiei searched around for Natsumi and spotted her at the bar, with a boy. He felt anger swirl in his head. He had the mad urge to kill that boy, whoever it was. He walked (more like stumbled) over to where Natsumi and the boy were.

"That's interesting Natsumi, I like flying ducks too."

"I know! I mean they are so…duck like…it's crazy." Hiei reached his arm in front of Takashi's face, making sure he saw his Katana. "Hello who are you? My name is Takashi."

"Fuck you." Hiei growled. Natsumi started to laugh again. "We need to go home now don't you think?" he said, pulling on her arm. She continued to laugh while Hiei dragged her away.

Kurama pulled a chair out for her. "Is she okay?" Natsumi wasn't quite with the world at the moment. Takashi came waltzing over with ice. "Here you go."

"We don't need your help." Hiei snapped. Kurama scolded the fire demon. "Hiei…please he's trying to help." Natsumi groggily pulled out a pen while Hiei kept ice on her head. "Your number." She demanded from Takashi. He wrote it down while Hiei tried to burn a hole in his hand with his eyes.

"Bye Takashi! Thank YOOOOUUU!" Natsumi giggled before attempting to walk home. Hiei grabbed her arm. "Watch yourself, what did you think you were doing back there?"

"Hiei? I'm going to kiss you!"

"What?" She stepped forward towards him and Hiei felt his face grow hot but before anything happened, she fell into his arms, and began to cough. "I don't feel good…" she groaned. Kurama put his hand to her forehead. "She's sick…"

OH MY GOD! I'M DONE!

Next Chapter:

Well…you can only guess who comes to visit sick Natsumi? That's right. Takashi.

Hiei, being the nice guy he is, (Cough, cough) picks up a few more things at Natsumi's apartment and finds her diary!

Natsumi asks Hiei to sing her a get well song…oh my good Kami I am a bad person. But, you just have to read it!

The Spirit Protector grows whiskers! Ah!

PLUS! A super gasp surprise! Someone just might die! (Take a guess at who it might be, just guess)

**VERY IMPORTANT: **I might not be able to update until this weekend because of final exams, I am so sorry but well…school is school. Stay tuned incase I can update sooner! Thank you all you reviewers out there, it is much appreciated you have no idea how much it means to me. (But enough with the sappy) Thank you again!


	5. Sing Me a Song

**Disclaimer: **Yea I own it and my mom is a bowl of jelly…

**NOTICE: **Due to the 'shortness' in my opinion of chapter 4, this chapter will be extra long with a cherry!

The-one-who-wears-a-mask: I love you too! Dearly not queerly! Haha…I'm your Author Deity? I feel very…er…holy. Woohoo!

Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: I just had to make him mad…I had the urge. Yea to be honest I am not actually completely one hundred percent satisfied with chapter four so I am clearing a lot of things up in this chapter; for you mostly…and to make myself feel better.

Sara-chan10: BATMAN SANG?! That's…INSANE!!! That would be funny; I can just imagine him singing rock-a-bye-baby…hehe. You know, I just might add some things about Kurama in there… (Nods head in thought)

HieiFan666: Yea that's what I thought too…I don't like Takashi either! (Even though I made him up…whatever) but he has quite a significant role in helping Hiei realize that he likes Natsumi a lot. Hm yea, once a guy I liked read my diary…it was not good. Hiei will sing! I will make him sing! If I have to tie him up and…whatever it takes! It's too bad that Kuwabara doesn't die…huh…oh well. He needs to be there to be stupid!

DarkGoddess29: Torture is good…me like torture.

Kiki: Interesting? Good I was hoping that it wasn't boring people to death, but getting drunk off of it is good too!

Smirking Arrogance: Don't worry about it! Yea another pickle! I'm glad I'm getting better! I hope everyone enjoys the get well song!

Blacksammicat15: Haha! Oh that would be very funny, sadly it does not happen. Someone might not die this chapter, but soon!

**I F. W I S H E S. W E R E. Y O U K A I.**

**Chapter 5- Sing Me a Song **

"She's sick…" Kurama said, lifting the girl off of Hiei. Takashi moved his head around Kurama to see. "Sick…but she didn't have that much to drink…" Kurama shook his head. "No maybe it just was set off by the alcohol, we should get her home." As Kurama said this, Yusuke and Kuwabara came tearing out of the club. Yusuke made his way over to Kurama and put his hand on Kurama's cheek. "Hey pretty lady, you come here often?" Kurama freaked.

"Yusuke it's me! Kurama…a boy!" Yusuke didn't seem to understand this and made kissing noises at the fox. "Where are you guys going?" Kuwabara asked, before hiccupping. Hiei pointed to Natsumi. "Home you imbecile, she's sick." Yusuke stopped hitting on Kurama and stared thoughtfully as Natsumi, finally he said, "Well that's what she gets for eating a rabbit." Kurama exchanged a quizzical expression with Hiei. The fire demon draped Natsumi over his shoulder and began walking home with Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and much to his objection, Takashi.

Kurama noticed Hiei's discomfort. "Takashi, you don't have to come if you don't want to." The sandy haired boy only smiled and replied. "I feel obligated to, I should not have aloud her to drink." Hiei turned his head away from Takashi. _He feels obligated to…what an asshole. _The rest of the walk home was completed in silence, with the exception of Yusuke and Kuwabara singing, "Smile Bomb" (AKA: The Yu Yu Hakusho beginning theme song.)

Hiei shoved ahead of everyone and rushed into Kurama's house. Kurama ordered Yusuke and Kuwabara to sit on the couch and not make a sound. "Just…watch wrestle mania or something…try not to scream." Hiei took a sharp turn down Kurama's hallway and into Natsumi's bedroom. He placed her on the bed and removed her shoes before pulling the satin sheets over her. He took a deep breath and put his hand on her chest. Her breathing was uneven, sounded like she had to cough but couldn't. _What could have caused this…that damn Takashi or whatever his name is…and his stupid club is probably the reason._ Hiei's thoughts were disrupted when he heard to boys coming down the hall.

"Here is Natsumi's room; I think Hiei is already in there." Hiei could have leapt out her window but he wanted to stay. He couldn't help but worry about her…the stupid woman. Kurama and Takashi entered and went over to the bed. "How is she?" Kurama asked. "Her breathing is a little uneven."

"Perhaps she has the flu, my plant magic-er I mean herbs should heal her up right away." Luckily Takashi didn't catch any of that. He had a bag of ice in his hand, and went to put it on the young girl's forehead. "Well aren't you the handy man." Hiei muttered low enough so only Kurama could hear. The fox shot him a quick look of 'I tried to get rid of him'. Hiei rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should be out there where your friend, Kuwabara is." Hiei suggested harshly. Takashi didn't make eye contact with Hiei (Probably thought his eyes would burn out) but answered, "Of course, I can see she has all the help she needs…actually I think I will make my way back to the club…" He slid out the door with Hiei behind him, grinning in satisfaction.

Kurama began to leave the room as well to get some herbs while Hiei perched himself on Natsumi's windowsill. Kurama was grinding his eyes into him; waiting for him to turn around and look at him. But Hiei knew better. Why should he have to be bombarded with questions after he had to witness Natsumi and that…thing…in the club? He shouldn't; so he refused to look at Kurama. He pretended like he wasn't there, so Kurama left with a heavy sigh.

Hiei turned his head slowly to Natsumi, watching her passed out figure. He thought for a moment something like what happened earlier with the shower might occur, but he didn't feel anything but a need to help her. He forced his body off the window sill and knelt down by her. He didn't expect something like this to have happened, not today; it was one of those days where everything was going wrong. He waited most patiently for a good five minutes but she didn't stir and Kurama didn't return. So Hiei decided to see if Yusuke and Kuwabara were still intoxicated.

Kurama dug through his room to find any plant he could use. _I could just give her flu medicine…but this will work much better. _He grabbed the black potted plant off of his window sill and tore the leaf in half, revealing a white liquid substance he scooped into a spoon. "This much should do it…" He balanced the medicine so it didn't fall off and walked to Natsumi's room.

As the fox turned into the young girl's room he noticed she was alone. "That's funny, where did Hiei go?" He shrugged and propped the still unconscious Natsumi up on the head board. "This may taste bad, but it will help." Just as the last bit was sliding into her mouth, Kurama heard a shrill scream from the den. He leapt up like a salmon and ran out. What he saw didn't shock him…that much.

The steel blade of Katana was resting on Takashi's throat. That didn't surprise Kurama. The fact that Takashi was still there, did. "Uh…Takashi why are here…I mean…Hiei! Release him!" Hiei had Takashi pinned on the sofa, his sword at his throat and Yusuke and Kuwabara just continued to laugh. "Yea go Hiei! This is like wrestle mania at home!" Kurama rolled his eyes. _I can't leave them alone for two seconds…_ He ordered Hiei off Takashi and took the boy into his room.

Takashi was shaking like a leaf and Kurama was just a little ticked off. "Why are you still here?" he spat out, and then stopped himself. He was being a bit harsh. He took a deep breath. "Okay, so what exactly happened?"

"W-Well, I was just walking out when Yusuke tried to wrestle with me and I couldn't get up. But when Hiei came in he stopped, and I asked how Natsumi was and the next thing I know…I was…he tried to slit my throat. Is he okay?"

Kurama felt like screaming, "Does he look okay to you! That's his woman for spirit world sakes! Geez!" But he didn't. He calmly said, "Takashi I think you should go home now…" the sandy haired boy shuffled his feet to the door. "Yea…I think that's a good idea…" Kurama helped Takashi get out while Hiei cooled down. Kurama shook his head; this was not a good night. Not a good night at all.

"Hiei, he's gone you can stop digging your nails into your skin." Hiei glared at Kurama, because he knew the fox was right. He gritted his teeth and sunk into the sofa. "He shouldn't have stayed, it's his fault." Kurama rolled his eyes for what seemed to be the millionth time that day. Yusuke and Kuwabara were snuggled into the couch, asleep, or passed out possibly. "I gave Natsumi medicine." Kurama said suddenly. Hiei folded his arms across his chest. "Oh…" Hiei showed a small sign of relief across his face. Kurama knew Hiei was worried, even if he didn't show it.

"Well, I'm going to check on her…"

"Okay…"

"Hiei…"

"What?"

"Never mind…" Kurama walked off into the hall leaving Hiei at the mercy of Kuwabara's snoring.

The Kitsune slipped in Natsumi's room to see her on the floor, searching through a gray duffle bag. "You should be resting." Natsumi jumped around at Kurama's soothing voice. "I was just looking for something…but I can't find it. It must be in my apartment still." Kurama helped her into the bed and pulled up the covers. "I'm fine Kurama; I feel better."

"That's only because of the medicine I gave you. You still need to rest." She coughed slightly. "Well I need some stuff from my apartment."

"I'm sure that Hiei will get it…although he is still pretty pissed about Takashi."

"Who?" Kurama sweatdropped. "Takashi…you know…from the club?"

Natsumi thought for a moment. "Oh…him, what's wrong with him?"

"He was here and Hiei put a sword to his throat." She cocked her head slightly with a half smile. "Really…" Kurama flipped off the light and began to leave. He smiled at her in the darkness. "Get some rest."

As Kurama entered the den again, Yusuke and Kuwabara were still asleep and Hiei was still on the couch, arms crossed. "Well…?" he asked. Kurama chuckled. "She's fine. Right now she's resting but she needs some things from her apartment, can you pick them up? Just bring the rest of her stuff over." Hiei unfolded his arms and stood. "Fine just get the bakas to stop snoring, she'll wake up…and it's annoying." He added quickly before leaving to her apartment.

Hiei broke into Natsumi's apartment again, through the rusted window on the side. There wasn't much left in her apartment. Just a bed, a few books, and a medicine cabinet. Hiei wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to get, so he grabbed it all. There was a few manga spread out across the 'bookshelf' and then one black book with white skulls on it. Hiei pulled it out. The words, 'Read and Die' were written on the cover. _What is this…? _

He opened the hard cover and peered inside at the messy handwriting. _This can't be…a journal? She has a diary? _Hiei couldn't help but read on. He was intrigued by ningen muses. What they thought about their pathetic lives. So he read. He flipped to the back at the last entry recorded.

_Dear Diary or whatever, _

_Today was the weirdest day of my life. I showed up for work, and this…thing was there. It was really fucking creepy. Anyway, these two guys came and killed him. It wasn't normal. One of them had a third eye and the other kinda looked like a chick. But he was cute. I just remember fainting and I felt kind of stupid and girly for doing that but I couldn't help it. When I woke up there were two more guys there but I don't really remember what happened after that. I just woke up and realized I was late for work. Actually I have to get going to work. _

_Later,_

_Natsumi_

"She thinks Kurama is cute…?" he asked himself. He flipped to the beginning of the diary and read more. He looked at the first entry. It was dated two months ago, October 14th.

_Dear…whatever, _

_Today is the second anniversary of mom and dad's death. And I went out and bought a journal. I might go visit them later but…what reason do I have? They really didn't do much for me in the long run. Do you think kids get in trouble for not caring about that? My mom always told me I was going to hell…I wonder if that's true. I wonder if I'll see her there. Maybe I am thinking too much about that. It's just…life is so boring. Why can't something exciting happen? I don't know…I'll wait and see._

_Later,_

_Natsumi _

It was interesting to read about her. Hiei had just wished she wrote more about recent events. But he figured she needed to get her diary. He shoved it in the bag and threw everything else in. "That should do it." He jumped out the window and back to Kurama's.

---

"Botan…"

"Yes Koenma…?"

"Since when did this have whiskers?!" The grim reaper and the toddler prince peered over the silver bowl where a Spirit Protector had been forming for the last two days.

"It looks a cat Koenma…"

"I know," Botan started to giggle. "Maybe it's not a dragon…it could be a cute little kitty!" Koenma sighed. _For a grim reaper you aren't very grim. _

"Just imagine Hiei's inner self being a kitten! But I don't think that's possible…"

Koenma walked away from the babbling girl but she just went on and on…

As the young prince walked into his office he noticed Ogre was standing there in a cold sweat. "Ogre…what do you want?" The blue man rushed to Koenma. "Lord Koenma! There are three youkai looking for Natsumi."

"Since she got that tracker off I don't think they'll be able to find her, but keep an eye on them."

Ogre hesitated before speaking. "Lord K-Koenma, don't you think you should meet her?" Koenma tugged on his collar. "Perhaps…I'm not sure, why does it matter?"

"I don't know…she'll have to meet you eventually."

Koenma sighed at that thought. "I suppose…"

---

Morning had just broken out. Hiei was in a chair beside Natsumi's bed, sleeping with the gray bag next to him. The diary tucked safely inside. Natsumi was out like a light, and so was Hiei. He wanted her to wake up at first so he could ask her about her diary, but the front cover made him think otherwise. Even with the club incident and Takashi, even Natsumi getting sick; it was all better now. It was Saturday. It was a new day.

Hiei awoke first, adjusting to the light of the room before peering down at the sleeping girl, still dressed in her clothes. Hiei didn't want to have to wait. He began to lightly shake her. "Natsumi…wake up." The girl swatted his hand away with her own. She had a major hangover. Hiei go away…it's Saturday."

"So?"

"It's Saturday…time to sleep." This didn't make sense to Hiei. It didn't matter what day it was, she needed to wake up. "I have your stuff." She smiled and sat up. Hiei pulled out the gray bag and threw her things on the bed; she grabbed at them and hugged her diary. "Thanks,"

The fire demon smirked. "Well I'm sure Takashi wouldn't do that. I did it. Me."

She sighed.

Demons were so possessive.

"I said thank you, what more do you want?" She brought her hand to her mouth and coughed vigorously. "Are you okay?" the boy asked. She smiled at him. "Yea I feel a lot better but…um…"

Hiei stared at her with his eyes squinted. He knew she was up to something. And he knew he would probably give into it. A Jagan eye can make you very weak. "Will you sing me a get well song?"

Very weak.

"No, absolutely not. I am not…singing. Never." She pouted at him. That look a woman gets when she knows she can lure you into something. But Hiei was not ready to fall over and sing. That just wasn't something he did. He didn't care how much his Jagan was out of whack. He still had free will. Natsumi put her hands over her head and leaned against the head board. She started to softly sing a tune that gradually grew louder. "You are my sunshine…my only sunshine…you make me happy when skies are gray…"

Hiei shifted uncomfortably. "Stop singing." She continued to go on, "Come on Hiei…sing!" The fire demon's eye began to twitch. He opened his mouth slightly. "You are my sunshine."

She blinked. "Hiei that's not singing…you just talked."

"So…?" She cupped her hands in her face. "You have to sing it." Hiei shrugged. "I don't…want to." She glared up at him. This was going to take some work. "Well I'm hungry, and I don't feel good so sing for me please."

Hiei thought this over for a few seconds. "I'll make you something to eat." She half-smiled at the boy. "I guess that's alright…" she mumbled, and then added, "But I'm not letting you off the hook for singing."

"Hn," was Hiei's reply as he left room and as he did Natsumi picked up her diary and searched around for a pen. "I have a shit load to write,"

Kurama's kitchen was a respectable size, but a little too big for one fire youkai. Hiei, after watching Kurama eat breakfast so many times, still wasn't sure where anything was. There were at least seven cupboards. Hiei started at the fridge. "Pickles…eggs…bread…sushi…no." Hiei didn't find the food good enough, so he reached to the largest cupboard and opened it. Right in front of his face was a box with the words, "Chocolate Puffs" on it. He pulled it out.

"Kurama always puts that white stuff in this…" He reached back in the fridge and pulled out the milk. Now he had two things, he still needed silverware. "Bowls…he has bowls right?" Hiei tore through the kitchen looking for anything he could pour the cereal in. He finally found a bowl.

"Spoons…" he asked himself absentmindedly. There was a drawer Kurama always went in; Hiei looked in it for a spoon.

After he had everything in the order he wanted it, Hiei brought he bowl of Chocolate Puffs and milk with a spoon to Natsumi. _If she throws this up on me…_He pushed open the door to her room and walked in. Natsumi was deep in thought with her diary but Hiei pretended like he didn't notice. "Here," he ordered, shoving the cereal into her hands making her drop the diary.

"Thanks a lot, I love Chocolate Puffs!" She shoved spoonfuls into her mouth like she hadn't eaten in days. Hiei drew his eyes to her diary, wondering what she had written. "So…are you going to sing?"

"No."

"Please."

"Not in a million years."

"Hiei I can't get better unless you sing."

"That's a lie."

"No it's not, my mom used to sing me get well songs when I was young…but tragically she's dead. But…I still have you." The girl was smart he had to give her that, trying to guilt trip him into this. Hiei remained firm. "You talk me into a lot of things, and this isn't one of them." She sighed and realized she would have to use her last resort.

"I bet Takashi would." Hiei cringed. That name…he hated that name. She had him there, she really did. _I didn't want to have to do that Hiei…_she told herself. It was a moment in history, Kurama was in the shower, and Yusuke and Kuwabara were still asleep. It started off very soft but Hiei finally brought it to a steady pace.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray…" he stopped. He didn't know the rest of the words. "You'll never know dear how much I love you, so please don't take my sunshine away…" Natsumi finished before wishing she had recorded it.

"You'll never know dear, how much I love you, so please don't take my sunshine away…are you happy?" Natsumi wiped away a fake tear. "Yea, that was beautiful," Hiei rolled his eyes. "I feel like an idiot."

"Relax, no one heard you." They both sat there for a moment, before Hiei said. "You sing alright." She smiled and continued eating her Chocolate Puffs as Kurama came waltzing in. "Hello, Natsumi you shouldn't be eating that…Hiei why did you make that for her?"

Natsumi spoke before Hiei could. "Hiei didn't, I got up and did it…sorry." Hiei wasn't entirely sure what to do, except stare at her with his mouth open. Kurama sighed, "If you get sicker, it's not my fault."

"I know…" Kurama was glad she took responsibility for her actions. Just then there was a ring at the doorbell, and Kurama left to get it. "Why did you do that?" Hiei finally asked. She stared blankly at him. "Do what…?"

"You said you made the cereal, and you didn't. You know that." She made on 'Oh,' with her lips. "That, well Kurama's gotten mad at you enough, I just figured he wouldn't chew me out, you dig?"

"Do I dig?"

"Do you understand?" She rephrased. But before Hiei could answer there was knock on her door. "Kurama?" she asked. There was silence for a moment. "No, it's Takashi." Natsumi started to choke on her cereal and Hiei cringed again, actually, he quite literally twitched.

Takashi had what looked like a thermos filled with what he said was, "Chicken flavored ramen." Natsumi blinked and looked around. _How does he know where I live…how does he know where I live?! _

He handed the thermos over to her. "Here, this should help you feel better; it's healthier than Chocolate Puffs." Hiei balled his fist.

"Yea but Chocolate Puffs are really good…" she defended, noticing that Hiei was steaming. She took the thermos none the less. "Uh, thanks…" Takashi stood there, and it was a very awkward moment. Natsumi darted her eyes to Kurama for help. "Oh yes, Takashi why don't you come with me to the kitchen for some tea?"

The sandy-haired one agreed and exited with Kurama, smiling at Natsumi. As soon as they left she freaked. "How does he know where I live!?"

"He came home with us. He was in here giving you ice."

"WHY!?"

"You insolent, you gave him your number."

Natsumi froze in position. "I did…what?"

Hiei sighed; she must have been too drunk to remember. "You don't remember do you?" she shook her head so Hiei began to brief her on the events of last night.

As soon as Hiei finished, she began to groan. "I don't believe this…we are never drinking again. Ever." Hiei was a bit confused. "I thought you liked him?" his voice had just a hint of worry in it. She was about yell out no when she noticed the look on his face. This gave her an idea. _If I pretend to like Takashi…then Hiei will be really jealous, and then he'll probably be a whole lot nicer to me…_

"I might…" she finally said slyly. Hiei almost fell off his chair but kept his cool as best he could. "…Oh,"

"Are you okay?" she asked, although she knew the answer.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"I-…" Hiei stopped himself from yelling and calmly finished, "I mean it, I'm fine." Natsumi inwardly smiled. _This just might work out…_

There you have it, chapter five. This was really long! I KNOW no one died. Not yet. I have postponed this person's doom for a later chapter. So um…hm…thank you reviewers…and more reviews are good! Review, review!

Next chapter Preview:

Natsumi finally meets Koenma and he slips to her and Hiei about the Spirit Protector. (Oops…)

Takashi makes an…interesting proposal (not that kind).

Hiei continues to read the ever infamous diary.

Remember Natsumi's plan? Well it starts to go horribly wrong...


	6. The Phone Call from Hell

**Disclaimer: **For the very last time. No.

**SO IMPORTANT: **I know it took me like a week and more to update, but I couldn't sign on because my computer was overflowed with cookies and took me forever to get them off. So I apologize.

**AnimeFreaks13: **I'm so happy I had a…beauteous chapter. Hehe.

**Jessica: **Yes I thought of that problem too but then remember, if you go back to chapters two, Hiei can't seem to read her thoughts because of the Jagan.

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **Oh but I wanted to! Yea I hope she's a good actor too… (Gulps) I hate when boys read girls diary's…but you know Hiei had to do it. I'm making him…!

**Sara-chan10: **Oops…I put that part under the wrong person. HAHA! Gomen…Natsumi doesn't know about Yukina, not yet. (Shifty eyes)

**Hiei'slover-Hiei is mine-Arwen: **Well it is listed under comedy!

**Hieifan666: **I didn't want Natsumi to seem evil, I'm glad it's coming off as cute. Kawaii! Natsumi should really put a lock on her diary…but she is so trusting of Hiei…oh…did I give something away??? (Big wink) Plan! Remember? Read the last few paragraphs of chapter five. You shall remember.

**Felinoel: **Hiei rubs off on people doesn't he? Just look at me, I say hn, all that time!

**DarkGoddess29: **Eeep! Okay…um…I'll be sure to make someone bleed? You think it's Takashi huh? You're probably right, but I won't give it away. Don't give me those eyes! It's not that kind of proposal! Twenty out of ten? Wow, I feel like I'm winning a prize…very Kawaii!

**Smirking Arrogance: **Yes, evil good. Me like evil. You make good predictions. I liked chapter five too…all the singing. I love singing. Hiei better hope Natsumi doesn't find out he's reading her diary.

**Sausage: **Oi, a penguin? Interesting suggestion…I like it. I like your penname too. And I like sausages too. I like a lot of things…Thank you! No Botan and Hiei. BAD!!!

**CrAzY-MaNiAc-PeRsOn:** My zombie! Eeek! I love you! It's okay no worries! And no more health class for us! Yeah!

**Hieiloving101: **I'm so happy you were laughing! My tenses are in chronological order? I didn't even know that…hehe. Don't worry; ranting is good, I don't mind. Rant away.

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **You know he probably could be! If he would just lay off the loner act…oh well, we love him for it, don't we?

**I F. W I S H E S. W E R E. Y O U K A I. **

**Chapter 6-The Phone Call from Hell**

Natsumi plugged the pillow over her ears and tried to phase out her head ache. _I gave him my phone number…ugh. _Her door was open and she could see as everyone passed by occasionally. She could have sworn she saw Kurama walk by talking into something that looked like a compact. _I knew he was feminine but Kami…that's just weird. _She turned her gaze to Hiei, who was plastered on her window sill staring blankly out the window. It was obvious he was hiding until Takashi left. She was going to stir up conversation when there was sudden yelling.

"What? When? Tonight? Since when…? Botan too? No? Yes…? MAKE UP YOUR MIND KOENMA!!!" Kurama was yelling into his compact thing. Natsumi rolled her eyes. "How do you feel?" Takashi slipped away from Kurama and was standing in Natsumi's doorway.

She gulped, _Time for some serious acting. _She smiled and batted her eyes. And in her sweetest voice possible said, "Oh I'm feeling much better, thanks…the ramen helped." That was complete lie, she hated ramen. The boy smiled. "Well I'm glad; I'll see you again tonight."

"Eh?"

"I'm coming over again tonight, or maybe tomorrow, I don't know yet."

"Oh…okay bye for now." As soon as Takashi closed the door Natsumi dropped her fake smile. But it seemed to have fooled everyone. "Do you really like him?" Hiei asked, but he still didn't turn his head away from the window. Natsumi suddenly felt her stomach go hollow. "Y-yea…I guess." She sputtered out.

"Hn, I see." Guilt tugged at her heart strings but she ignored it. She wasn't actually really starting to feel for Hiei was she?

"H-Hiei…I-I…never mind." The fire youkai gave her an odd look. There was something behind all this…he could tell. He just wasn't sure what.

There eyes were locked in an awkward stare for almost five minutes. They each had something to say with no way to say it. The silence was ultimately broken when Kurama came bursting through the door, completely out of breath.

"K-Koenma...Here! Tonight!" He took a second to gather his breath. "Koenma is coming tonight!"

"Koenma?! Is he a youkai too?!" Natsumi freaked out and went to jump out of the bed but her ankle was twisted around the sheets and she fell face first onto the floor. "Koenma…that baka toddler…is the ruler of the Spirit World." Hiei answered for Kurama.

She went quiet. "Oh…sounds important. Why is he coming here?"

"We happen to be good friends with Koenma, it's a long story. But he wants to meet you. Seeing as how you are now involved with us." Kurama explained. She nodded lightly. "He's arriving in just a few hours, at seven, along with Botan. She's a ferry girl. A sort of…grim reaper." Natsumi smiled at that thought. "Very cool."

"I'll let you get ready." He said when the compact in his pocket began to make noise. "Kurama…forgive me but why the hell are you carrying around a compact?"

Kurama turned it around to show her the screen. "It's a communicator. If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to Koenma." The fox left Natsumi and Hiei alone again. Hiei finally spoke.

"You're sure your feeling better?"

"Yes," Natsumi smiled, and it wasn't a fake smile. It was real.

"That's good because I'm not playing doctor for you."

She clenched her teeth together so hard they would have broken under the pressure if she pressed harder. "You…ugh! Forget it; I'm going to the bathroom." She grabbed a new pair of clothes and stomped out of the room and slammed the door. He didn't mean what he said, but he was nervous. It didn't matter though, so why did he feel bad? None the less, Hiei took this opportunity to grab her diary.

_Dear you, _

_Wow, I have a lot to say. I am currently living in a really nice house with two demons. Scary but cool. I really like Kurama. He is nice to me; a real gentlemen. But sometimes I can't stand gentlemen. Hiei on the other hand is arrogant, and sometimes unbelievably rude. I can't help but like him though. He's cool in a…strange way. Right now he's off making me breakfast. Isn't that nice? But apparently, he hates me. Just his third eye thing wants to bang me? I think I have it right. Well it's a complicated story but it's better than life before. I can't believe it isn't that cold outside yet. It's December 15 already, and I know something is coming up, I just can't put my finger on it, too much has been going on. Well, I should go now._

_Natsumi _

Hiei put the diary down and sat in deep thought. _I can't help but like him._ Did she mean that as…?

"Koenma should be here at seven, you shouldn't make any jokes; not that they aren't funny but-…" Kurama walked in and interrupted Hiei's thoughts but gave him just enough time to put the diary back and stand up straight. "…Uh…Hiei…where's Natsumi?"

"Bathroom," Kurama nodded. Natsumi came back in then, wearing dark jeans and a plain red shirt. "Is this okay…? He's a prince…maybe we should by a dress?"

Kurama burst into laughter. "Koenma…is…um…well he's…"

"He looks young for his age…" Hiei said, smirking wildly. Kurama only laughed harder. "What…is he a midget?" Kurama regained control of himself while Hiei finally regained his usual grunge. Then the two stood to exit her room. "It's hard to explain, you'll just have to see him for yourself." With that said, Hiei and Kurama went into the kitchen.

There had been something on the fire youkai's mind for quite some time. "So her temperature is down to normal?"

"Yes, but…"

"But…continue…"

"Well it just seems strange…it came so quick and then just left."

"So you think it's something more?"

"I didn't say that, but we should keep an eye on it…"

"Kurama…"

"You worried?"

"…No of course not. I just don't want that Takashi bastard snooping around here is all…"

Kurama chuckled inwardly. "Of course Hiei…" the fox turned his head to the left and stared at the clock. Only two hours until Koenma arrived. He sighed and wondered how it would go. "Where did Yusuke and the baka go?" Kurama snapped to attention at Hiei's question. "Oh, home, they didn't want to be here when Koenma arrived."

"Figures…"

_Tap, tap. _Kurama averted his attention to the door. "Did someone knock?"

"I didn't hear anything," They waited a few more seconds before they heard a bang.

_TAP, TAP! _"Yoo-hoo! Are you going to let us in or not?" a voice songed. It was Botan. Kurama waltzed up to the door and opened it. "You're…um…early." Was all he said to them. "Is that how you greet people now Kurama?" she scolded. "Gomen, come in, how are you?" He took Botan's jacket and waited for Koenma to enter. "I see you came in your teenage form."

"Well of course, I can't be in front of you lady looking like an infant. I'm important you know." He winked slightly while Kurama closed the door behind them. Botan started to peek around. She looked under the table and over by the sofa before standing and scratching her head. "Okay…so where is she? Don't tell me we came all this way and she left…"

"No, no! She's uh…Natsumi can you come out here?" the fox called out. There was a moment of silence before the answer came. "Yeah hold on a second, I'm coming…" Natsumi was completely unaware that Koenma and Botan were already there. "Hey question why the fuck was my diary-…" she dropped her mouth open slightly.

"Do I bow?" Koenma stepped forward to approach her but Botan squealed and jumped in front of him. "Oh Kami, she's gorgeous! Fourteen, right? So what have you and Hiei been up to?" Natsumi looked to Kurama for an answer; she had no idea who this blue haired girl was. Botan suddenly realized what was going on. "Oh right of course, my name is Botan, pilot to the river Styx!"

Natsumi tried to make the right words form in her mouth. "Y-you are the grim reaper? You? But you're so…happy." Botan started to laugh. "Who said death was a bad thing neh?" Koenma finally scooted Botan aside to make his formal appearance. "My name is Koenma, I'm very important." She pointed her finger close to his face so it was almost touching his nose. "Really? That's funny Kurama and Hiei said you were like a midget or something…"

Koenma narrowed his eyes into a hard glare. "Did they now…" Kurama laughed nervously and said, "Heh, well um, why don't you all sit down for tea?" Everyone agreed to that, but Koenma was still pissed.

"Well, I must say I ashamed at you." Botan scolded. "Where are your Christmas decorations?"

"Christmas…what day is today?" Kurama asked.

"December fifteenth. It's practically here!"

It finally clicked in Natsumi's mind. "Oh shit! I mean damn! That's right! Christmas!"

Kurama slapped his hand to his forehead. "I don't believe it. We were so wrapped up in…everything we completely forgot about it. You know, it doesn't feel like Christmas."

Hiei wasn't quite getting it. "Christmas, what sort of ningen tradition is this?"

Natsumi shook her finger at him. "You don't know what Christmas is? It's you know, you buy all those presents and stuff. It hasn't snowed yet or even gotten very cold, so I really forgot about it."

"I still don't get it."

"Christmas Hiei, with the trees and the guy in the red suit?! Forget it…"

After Natsumi was done explaining, Botan went on. "I just thought of a great idea! We could have a Christmas party!"

Kurama thought about her proposal. "I suppose, Natsumi did you have any family you wanted to spend Christmas with?"

"Family…no you guys are about as close as it gets."

The fox nodded. "Well okay then, we can have a Christmas party…" he glanced at Hiei. "Are you okay with this?"

"It doesn't matter to me one way or another." _Like anyone would have changed their plans on my opinion. _

"So it's agreed?" Botan asked. Everyone nodded.

(For the ultimate record, on CBS I saw this thing and these Japanese kids were singing a Christmas song, apparently Japan celebrates Christmas, all though I don't know what it's officially called, I know it exists. So…haha!)

"So um, Koenma, may I please be granted permission to stay here until after Christmas?" Koenma nodded along absentmindedly. "Yes that's fine Botan and with the Spirit Protector about to hatch in just four days-…" Botan slapped her hand over the prince's mouth but it was too late. The mistake had been made.

"The what?" Hiei demanded. Koenma kept silent. _Oh shit, Hiei's going to kill me. _

Natsumi blinked. "The Spirit what? What's that?" She turned to Kurama but the boy only looked away, he wasn't going to get involved in this. While she sat dazed and confused, Hiei was pissed. "You did what? Why the hell would you do that? You insignificant!"

Koenma tried to defend himself. "Well what was I supposed to do? Half of Makai is looking for Natsumi! And you weren't going to protect her, I had to do something! Besides, it's too late now. So deal."

"Hn,"

"Okay…what is a Spirit Protector thing? Anyone?" Koenma took a brief minute to explain. She nodded. "Oh I see, so Hiei isn't motivated enough?"

"You seem motivated enough for Takashi though…" Hiei spat back.

"Shut up! At least he's nice!"

"He should die."

"You don't mean that."

"No I do, I want to kill him." Hiei stated flatly. _Hiei really would…no…yea actually he probably would. _Natsumi told herself. _That could be really bad for Takashi…_

Botan laughed nervously. _Okay, Hiei is a maniac…_ "Well...i should really be going, Botan why don't you stay here and help for that Christmas…thing." Koenma suggested slyly, before slipping out the door. "Koenma…! Erg…" Hiei and Natsumi continued to glare at each other while Kurama cleaned up. "Can't you two get along for more than five minutes?"

"No," they both said. Kurama rolled his eyes. Natsumi got up sharply and flew down the hallway to her room. Hiei had a good hunch she was going to write in her diary. "Hiei," Kurama said sternly. "You know if you kill Takashi, you'll punished-…"

"Shut up, I know."

--- (In the extreme elapsed time of five minutes)

Natsumi finally came out of her bedroom. Botan had left to see Yusuke just a few minutes before she came out. Hiei was now perched on the window sill as usual. Kurama placed his dishrag over the rail and picked up his book. "Kurama you mind if I join you to read?" Natsumi asked. "Of course not, go ahead." She followed him into the den while Hiei watched her from the corner of his eye. He was just waiting for her to leave. It was like she knew he wanted to read her diary. Now he was finally able to. It was almost like an addiction.

_Dear Diary, _

_So the ruler of the world is a teenager with a pacifier. Great, I feel so safe now. I can't believe I forgot about Christmas. And work. Damn. I won't have any money for gifts. But I doubt I'll be getting any. I think, but I'm not sure, that Kurama is reading you; it was not where I left it. Or it could be Hiei but…I don't know. I trust him not to. I don't think I should though; boys are not to be trusted. Speaking of the devil, Hiei and I had a fight, again. He wants to kill Takashi. Which I don't see why; if he doesn't care that is. My plan isn't working out entirely like I had hoped it would. Sad, but what can you do?_

_Natsumi _

"Her plan…?" Hiei shifted his eyes around suspiciously. _What plan? What plan could she possibly have…_the thought was driving him insane. He read the entry again. _I trust him not to…Damn it, why is she saying that? People don't trust me. That's just stupid. She's naïve…why does that make me feel guilty? _Kurama's telephone started to ring off in the distance but Hiei ignored it. _What is my problem? I shouldn't be feeling this. I hate this. _

Hiei kicked her bed softly, but hard enough so let out some anger. Then he heard Kurama's voice in the background. "It's for you Natsumi…" He slid across the hall and pressed his ear against the wall to eaves drop. "Hello…?"

"Natsumi?"

"Uh yea who the hell is this?"

"Takashi."

"Oh…hey TAKASHI, what's up?" She emphasized his name, hoping Hiei would hear. He did.

"Not much, sorry I couldn't come over tonight."

"It's okay," She let him rant on for a while, making sure Hiei was listening.

"So tomorrow, what do you have planned?"

"Uh nothing, why?"

"Do you want to go to dinner?"

She was at a lost for words. She didn't think he was actually going to ask that. "Er…um…" she thought back to Hiei. "…sure," she finally said.

"Great, tomorrow I'll pick you up at six, okay?"

"Yea, great," She hung the phone of the cradle and hugged herself. _So why do I feel like shit all of a sudden? _Hiei glanced around the corner at her. She looked, miserable. But she sounded so happy a minute ago. _But what did she agree to… _he wondered. "Kurama, I'm going to bed." She called to the fox.

Hiei blurred away before she could see him in the hallway. She trudged off to her room and flopped onto her bed. "So what are you doing tomorrow?" Hiei asked. Natsumi shot up. "Hiei? What do you want?" she kept her voice slightly gentle. "You were on the phone with Takashi, what did he want?"

"We're going out tomorrow."

"What do you mean out?"

Natsumi sighed. She wasn't in the mood for this. "On a date Hiei, he asked me out to dinner."

"Hn, you're actually going to be seen in public with it?"

"Hiei please, I really don't feel like getting into an argument with you. Not tonight. Just leave me alone so I can sleep."

"Alright…" Hiei shut the door softly on his way out, much to Natsumi's surprise. Half of Hiei was pissed, how could she be going out on a date with someone like him? But half of him felt bad for her, for something. He couldn't put his finger on it. As soon as Hiei left the room, Natsumi smiled to herself. _He's jealous…_

---

(Next morning)

Kurama poured himself a nice bowl of cereal. It was ten thirty in the morning but Natsumi and Hiei were already up. Kurama had come to the conclusion that they were both bi-polar. They hadn't spoken to each other all morning, but they hadn't argued either. Which was good, it was finally quiet.

Hiei stared at the clock. _Only three days until it fully forms…_He wasn't sure if he wanted that thing around. Especially after Yusuke's Spirit Beast formed into the blue…thing. Hiei glanced over at Natsumi who was only half awake. He thought she might fall face first in her cereal.

"Don't fall in…"

She groaned. "Yea…hn…gh…" Hiei lifted one eyebrow. "Okay then…" Natsumi glanced at the clock. _Tonight's my date…it wont be that bad, Takashi is a nice guy, what could go wrong?_

Please excuse the most horrible chapter ever. The next one I promise will be better; I just had to work up the tension and so on.

Preview:

Natsumi finally goes on her date with Takashi. Guess who shows up?

Botan goes crazy looking for Christmas decorations, with the help of a certain fox.

Hiei and Natsumi have a HUGE argument, which results in Hiei spilling a big jealousy issue he has. Emotions will be shown!

Erg…um, until late I guess! Reviews…please.


	7. An Emotional Crescendo

**Hello all you beautiful people… I sit here and read these wonderful reviews I have received and well, it makes me want to cry. I want to say thank you very much for these reviews. They mean more than the world! Hehe. **

**Shadow-Seeker13: **Another two weeks? I seem to be causing people emotional trauma with this story! Haha…is that good?

**Smirking Arrogance: **Because I am an evil authoress. Addicted well, that's a first. But I'm glad that people are hooked, or in your case, addicted. I'm glad to hear that my writing has improved that will help out a lot with my novel! Hurrah! It should be a black kitty…

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **Poor Takashi…not really. Poor Hiei is more like it. Botan does like to shop a lot doesn't she? No worries, no one is dying, not yet at least.

**DarkGoddess29: **Oh I'm sure Natsumi likes her, but who imagined a blue haired grim reaper? Sorry I took so long, my computer had lots of cookies and I had to clean the system out! AH! I loved that part with Puu…poor Hiei. So short.

**Sausage: **Are you kidding? I love ramen! Just Natsumi doesn't…I'm no Nazi! Hehe, Koenma would be a great midget.

**Aki Kihin Jaganshi: **Really? I'm a great writer? (Face lights up) I'm so happy, thank you!

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **Oh so you like emotions? They're fun to mess with…when they aren't yours that is…not that I like to mess with them…I don't. Really!

**FlamingPencil: **Thank you very much! I was really trying to make good development…I should take a writing class and get even better.

**BlackSammicat13: **Yep, she wants him to be uber jealous! Yea Takashi, that boy is going to get in serious trouble if he keeps it up. Especially with Hiei showing up…that's can't be good for him.

**FreakinCage: **I know! I hate when people make Hiei Mr. Mushy Pants. It bugs me. Especially the whole him and Kurama bit people got going on…they're just friends! Get a clue people!

**HieiFan666: **Fillers are good at times I suppose. Really? A Christmas chapter? I shall have to read this. Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Of course he shows up, he has to show up! Otherwise, he wouldn't be Hiei. Hm…Botan and Kurama…? I didn't think of that…! Yea Hiei is going to show emotion! AHAHAHA! Ha…yea.

**Felinoel: **I'm glad you thought it was good! Hiei would never, EVER become friends with Takashi. Don't worry, I wont do that!

**I F. W I S H E S. W E R E. Y O U K A I.**

**Chapter 7-An Emotional Crescendo **

_-_

It had been three hours. It was noon. They still hadn't said a word to each other. Not one word. Not even a grunt. Kurama enjoyed the silence, but it was a little unsettling at times. He was almost enjoying the constant bickering. Instead, Natsumi was locked in her room, writing away in her diary, and Hiei was glued to the window, watching the sky. It was hazy out, almost cold. _December sixteenth, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. _Kurama chuckled and continued reading. He was almost done with his book.

"Kurama where is the grim reaper?" the fox jumped slightly. He didn't realize Natsumi had entered it was so silent. "At Yusuke's apartment; they're going shopping for Christmas decorations for the party later."

"Oh, well shouldn't they come over now for a while?"

"I thought you thought Yusuke and Kuwabara were annoying…"

"So…" She pouted at Kurama who immediately understood that she hated the silence as well. Kurama lowered his voice to a slight whisper. "Why don't you try talking to Hiei?"

The silence ended by her screaming. "ME! Talk to him? He should be talking to me! If anyone's going to initiate conversation it should be him!" She went into the kitchen and threw open the fridge door. Kurama shrunk into the chair. _Why do I try? _

Hiei never took his eyes off the window, but he watched Natsumi's reflection. Every move she made. _It makes no sense, why she would…go out with him. And it makes even less sense why I am so mad about it. If Takashi wasn't around, this wouldn't be a problem._ He rolled his eyes at Natsumi, even if she couldn't see him. She could be so wistful at times, so unrealistic, but you went along with it. She could be a klutz and a vixen at the same time. That really bugged Hiei but intrigued him at the same time. It wasn't normal.

She wasn't a normal human.

The fire youkai set his gaze on the tree right outside Kurama's window where on the tallest branch was a black teddy bear. He stared thoughtfully at it. He wasn't sure why he didn't throw it away…and he was pretty sure Natsumi had thought that he did. (If you're lost, refer to chapter 3) "Hiei," the boy jumped slightly and turned to see Kurama, who apparently had been calling his name for quite some time.

"What?" Hiei snapped.

Kurama eyed Hiei intently. "Don't you think you should try to talk to her?"

Hiei played dumb. "Who?"

"Natsumi"

"No, why should I? If anything she should be trying to talk to me." Natsumi, who was listening from the other side of the room, clenched her fists in anger. She wanted to scream at him, "Bull shit! It's your fault and you know it!" But she didn't want to risk more screaming. It was the stupidest argument, and over a boy. Just over one stupid date.

Now that was stupid.

One o'clock. Takashi would be there in just five short hours. It seemed like so much longer though. Just the anticipation alone was killing Hiei. Botan had just called to say she was on her way over. Yusuke and Kuwabara would not be joining her. They didn't want to get in the middle of a fight with Natsumi and Hiei; it was like a war zone. Botan however, was unaware of this.

_Knock, knock. _Kurama moved from the auburn chair to get the door. Natsumi hadn't left her room in over an hour and Hiei had yet to leave the window sill. "Hallo Kurama!" Botan cheered, making her way into the entrance and slipping off her shoes. "Hello," Kurama replied.

Botan made her way to the den and saw Hiei, in one of the worst moods ever. She flipped her head from side to side. "Where's Natsumi? Why is Hiei so pissed? Are they fighting?" she asked. Hiei's face twitched slightly at the sound of the girl's name. Kurama tried to think of what to say. Technically Hiei and Natsumi weren't fighting, but they definitely weren't speaking. There was just tension. SO much tension.

"It was just a little disagreement…" Kurama said.

"Hn," was Hiei's reply. Botan nodded and winked. "Oh, I get it. Natsumi is in her room I assume?"

"Yes," So the grim reaper made her way to Natsumi's room.

_Knock, knock. _"Go away,"

"It's Botan!"

"Oh, come on in!" Natsumi's mood was suddenly flip-flopped. Botan entered to see a various number of outfits sprawled out across Natsumi's bed. Botan put her finger to her bottom lip in question. "What are you doing?"

Natsumi picked up a black tank top and then a white one. "Picking an outfit for tonight."

"I see, you have a date with H-…" Natsumi cut off Botan.

"No, a boy I met."

"I see…so what's his name?"

"Takashi," Botan took a seat on what part of the bed was not taken up by clothes. This was strange. Botan thought Natsumi was interested in Hiei, not another boy. "So you like this Takashi?"

"I suppose," the answer wasn't very confident. Botan went in further. "Well, what about Hiei?"

"What about him?"

"I thought you and him-…"

"No…"

"Natsumi," Botan brought her voice to a lower tone. "This may be hard to understand but Hiei really does care about you."

"Well he has a damn funny way of showing it."

"I know, it's just, that's Hiei…" Botan got up. "I'm taking Kurama out to shop for party favors, just think about what I said, tootles!" And she left. Natsumi covered her forehead with her hand. _I know that…I know…that's what I like about him. I know he cares…but why doesn't he just…_she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I need to pick out an outfit."

Botan walked into the kitchen feeling very proud of herself at the moment. "Kurama, there's so much tension in here I could cut it with my oar!" she took a pause to laugh. "Let's go out shopping for the party! Please? Yusuke and Kuwabara are playing Halo two all night tonight!"

"Sure Botan let me get my coat." As Kurama got his coat, Hiei was deciding whether or not he should dash out with them to avoid being alone with Natsumi. Sure they were fighting, but he still had…hormones… "Hiei watch the house, don't do anything stupid…"

"Hn," was Hiei's reply to the fox's demands. He continued watching the bear in the tree. "We're off!" Botan said, and the two left. There was Hiei. Alone in a house with the girl and hated and wanted at the same time. As Hiei let these thoughts penetrate his mind Natsumi came out of her room with two shirts. "Botan which of these…" she trailed off to see the coats gone and Hiei still there. She didn't say anything; she knew they had left her alone with him.

She bit her bottom lip and moved to the couch by Hiei. She waited for him to say something. But he didn't. Hiei on the other hand, was waiting for her to say something. But she didn't. Natsumi finally opened her mouth but only sighed loudly. Hiei rolled his eyes in agony. _Just say something. _

Finally after what seemed like hours, Natsumi grabbed a sheet of paper and pen. She began writing furiously while Hiei pretended not to be interested. When she had finished, she slid the paper across the end table and waited for Hiei to pick it up.

He took the bait.

In clear blue pen were the words,

_If you aren't going to talk and say sorry, then I won't either. In fact…I'm not talking to you the rest of the night. _

Hiei wrote back,

_Bull shit, you have to talk. _

Natsumi only pursed her lips and shook her head. Hiei raised on eyebrow in suspicion, was that a smirk he saw on her face? In any case, Natsumi got up and walked back into her room with the shirts to change. They had made no progress.

It was exactly five fifty when Natsumi came out of her room fully dressed for the night. She had on a black tank top with thin yellow ribbons that tied at the shoulder for the straps. Also she wore a pair of blue jeans and a black belt. Natsumi looked around and noticed Kurama and Botan weren't back yet. _That Botan must be one hell of a shopper…_she decided. Hiei just looked.

She had so far kept her promise of not talking to Hiei. In fact she hadn't spoken the entire day. Hiei was just itching to read her diary. But right now he was just pissed. Takashi would be there in a matter of minutes. Natsumi took a seat on the chair by Hiei and waited. So did Hiei.

Once again, he took the bait.

Natsumi noticed there was more writing on the sheet of paper she had used earlier. She read it. It read, _TALK. _She simply shook her head no. _If I'm going to do this, I am going to be a bitch about it. _She told herself. Hiei tore the paper up in anger. Hiei tore the paper up in anger. Yea he was pissed, and Natsumi knew why.

Jealousy. It was painted on her lips. She just wanted to scream it. But she didn't. She crossed her arms and sat in victory. Hiei tried not to make a scene. This was really getting to him. She looked…hell she looked gorgeous and that's all there was to it. Hiei just wouldn't admit something like this to himself.

The door bell was suddenly rung. Hiei's heart stopped pounded for the split second the ring went through the house. _She can't go through with this…_ Hiei told himself. Natsumi got up from the chair, slightly waved to Hiei, and opened the door to greet Takashi.

Apparently, she can.

They exchanged words briefly, "How are you? Are you ready to go? The restaurant is called the Okinawa Palace." Without even saying bye, Natsumi left. She only turned to give Hiei a slightly sad wave. As soon as the door closed Hiei clutched the area of his chest where his heart should have been.

"I think I'm going to…cry…hurl?" He wasn't sure but he made his way towards her room and anxiously opened her diary to the most recent entry.

_Dear Mother Fucking Diary, _

_Well me and Hiei are fighting again. That's no surprise though. He seems smart. A good fighter and stuff but he has no common sense sometimes! All I want is for him to get a clue! My plan sucks…he isn't taking the hint. I want him to just admit that he's so jealous! Why won't he just pay attention to me! Is that so hard? To be nice for over five seconds? Apparently for Hiei it's very hard. I hate it. So stupid sometimes. Why won't he just say sorry? I just want a sorry…_

_Natsumi _

Hiei slammed the diary shut and hit himself in the head. _Idiot… _But that wasn't going to do anything…he stood and headed out to find the Okinawa Palace.

Kurama gulped. Almost half of the store was in their shopping cart. Botan must have gone insane.

"Botan…" Kurama tried to speak to her.

"We need more mistletoe…"

"Botan,"

"Do you have a tree up yet Kurama?"

"Botan…!"

"Because I think we should get a nice, big-…"

"BOTAN" the blue haired girl froze in her sentence. "Yes, I'm sorry did you say something?" Kurama sighed.

"We have enough stuff don't you think?"

"No,"

"I need to call the house though; I really didn't want to stay out this long. Hiei and Natsumi are alone…and…well I should call to check up." He moved to the pay phone and poured in the change.

_Ring_

He waited.

_Ring…_

Botan tapped her foot impatiently.

_Ring…_

Kurama began to wonder where Hiei was. _Pick up the phone…_ he begged silently.

_Ring…Beep. You have reached the residence of- _

Kurama slammed the phone down. "This isn't good. I'll call back…" Botan placed her hand over the receiver. "Later," she demanded. "We have to shop now!" Kurama gave in, despite his instincts.

As the two walked around the shop, they noticed an old woman smiling at them. Botan blinked and grabbed Kurama's arm. "She's staring at us…" The fox turned to the old woman slowly. She smiled wider and said, "Oh I'm sorry, I just enjoy seeing young couples in love, and it reminds me of the good old day's w-…"

"Whoa!" Botan and Kurama jumped in. "We are not…in love…we're…shopping!" Kurama defended. Botan shook her head in agreement. The old woman nodded. "OH I see…I'm sorry." The woman hobbled along with Kurama and Botan ten feet apart. "Um…" Botan started. "How about calling Hiei and Natsumi?" Kurama agreed.

Three call backs late and there was still no answer. Kurama freaked. "We have to go, now! Let's pay quickly and go!"

Botan sighed. "You're such a worry wart…fine." Kurama raced off the nearest cash register and Botan trailed behind him.

The Okinawa Palace was a decent restaurant. Not too fancy. But it was for any fire youkai. _Hiei would hate it here…_Natsumi told herself. Despite the nice decorations, the food was also good. Natsumi ordered sesame chicken and a rice ball, while Takashi ordered a steamer plate. The date hadn't gone bad at all. In fact, Natsumi was really enjoying the food. The conversation wasn't bad, she was really in the mood to talk; she hadn't all day.

"Anyway, when I was seven my parents died, so I quit sword play and moved on with my life!" Takashi nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sorry to hear that…how did-…" Natsumi shook her head. "I don't talk about it."

"Sorry…" She told him it was alright. She didn't mind. A lot of people asked what happened when she said that. Natsumi looked around the inside of the restaurant. She had wanted to sit outside but it got cold quickly. Takashi didn't want her to get sick again. So she agreed to sit inside with him. "So how did your dad go about owning a drag club?" she asked.

Takashi laughed slightly. "Actually it's a funny story-…" the boy paused in his sentence and stared directly behind Natsumi. She blinked and suddenly felt the looming shadow that was over her. _No…no way…it can't be…_she turned around.

It was.

Hiei was there.

In the flesh.

Standing there.

Right in front of her. She almost screamed. "Hiei?" she managed to spit out. Hiei looked down at her and raised one eyebrow. "You spoke," he said. "You said you weren't going to talk to me."

"Well…when you show up here yea I am! What the hell…why the hell are you here!" He didn't speak, instead Hiei decided to show Natsumi why exactly he was there in the first place. In this…Palace or whatever. He walked over to Takashi, and standing while the boy sat, Hiei lifted his hand and punched him

Takashi.

Right in the face.

Everyone in the restaurant gasped slightly while Natsumi jumped up. "Uh…um…" she wasn't sure what exactly to say at a time like this. Hiei grabbed her arm. "We're going home."

"The hell I am! Not with you!"

"They probably already called the police, unless you want to go down there or something." Hiei spat. Reluctant as she was, Natsumi climbed onto Hiei's back and they sped away from the Takashi, who was bleeding like crazy. He clutched his nose but the blood still ran through. In no time someone was there to help. But Natsumi and Hiei

Were gone…

It happened too fast. Natsumi wasn't even sure that it really happened. _This is what I get for trying to make a psycho jealous…_ she scorned herself slightly. But all in all, she didn't feel bad for Takashi that much. As soon as they reached Kurama's house, Natsumi shoved away from Hiei and into her room. Kurama and Botan weren't home yet. Was she mad? Maybe and probably…but she was also…flattered. She couldn't believe Hiei actually did that.

For her?

As soon as she shut her door, it was opened again by Hiei. She decided to dig into what was going on. "Hiei…what the fuck was that back there?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh I don't know…maybe you might have punched someone in the face!"

"So you really care that he was punched?"

"That's not what I'm talking about! Why did you do that?"

"Do you like him?"

"Answer my question Hiei."

"Because! I felt like it!"

"Just say it Hiei! Why can't you admit you're jealous?"

"Because…I'm not!"

"Then why did you punch him? Give me one good reason Hiei!"

"Because…because I'm fucking jealous alright!"

"Why is that Hiei?"

"Because I feel like it!"

"WHY HIEI!"

"YOU SHOULDN'T BE DATING HIM!"

"THEN WHO THE FUCK DO I DATE HIEI? TELL ME!"

"ME!"

There was silence. Natsumi didn't say anything. Neither did Hiei. No…that didn't just come out of his mouth, it wasn't possible. He didn't say that. They heard the door opening as Botan and Kurama came home. They still didn't speak or move. Did Hiei just say that? No…no he couldn't have said that. There was a knock on the door. "Natsumi…? Where is Hiei?"

"H-here!" she managed to stutter out. Botan entered and waved. "Oh, why didn't you pick up the phone?"

"We uh, just got home." Botan nodded. There was something very different about them…she couldn't quite place it though. "Alright," she said finally. "I leave you two alone then." Right when she closed the door, Natsumi turned back to Hiei. "Okay, so repeat that for me…"

"I didn't say that."

"Yes you did…do…do…you want me to like…date you?"

"No."

"Well then why did you say that?"

"…I…I don't know…does it matter?"

"Yea it does! Hiei…"

"What?"

"Are we cool?" Hiei blinked and thought about it.

"I suppose…" Natsumi smiled again. "Cool…you know, it was kind of funny when his blood flew out his nose…hehe." Hiei smirked. "Yea, I know." Natsumi fidgeted with her straps slightly. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Hiei?"

"Hn?"

"Would you… kill me if I hugged you?"

"What? N-…" Before Hiei had a real chance to react, Natsumi wrapped her pale arms around him in a nice, friendly hug.

It was nice.

Hiei didn't want to admit this however. But his body was not cooperating with him and he just stood there. Natsumi let go after what seemed like forever when in reality it was only a few seconds. "Good night," Was all she said after breaking the hug. Hiei opened his mouth slightly. "O-kay…" he turned to the door and began to exit when she called to him, "So we're still cool?"

"Hn, yea we're…cool." Hiei left and Natsumi sat on her bed, dazed and confused. _I should be dating him?_

The end, of chapter seven that is…AnyWHO, please review, that is always nice…and here is preview for you!

Preview:

Natsumi finally finds out about Yukina!

Maybe, just maybe, something might form fully?

Takashi calls. Bad stuff for him, very bad.


	8. I Hate Ramen

**Mindless Blah, Blah #1: I really wanted to say, that I love all foods except mustard and beans. They do not belong in my mouth. EW…! To be very honest, I never thought I would get so far on this fic! I'm very happy! I owe it all to my reviewers. **

**Thanks for over 70 reviews!**

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **Haha, yea everyone seems so happy he got punched!!! I know right? Halo two rocks! But, I'm like the only girl in my whole school that knows how to play it!

**HieiFan666: **Cool…yea it does sound weird to think of Hiei saying that…cool! Gee…I hope she learns about their relationship. You hit the mark! It just might form…I'm not sure…but I'm pretty sure. Hiei might hit him…or maul his ass! Ahem…sorry, I had a moment!

**FreakinCage: **I'm so happy it's getting good! I love Hiei too! He's so cool! I rock? Well, I do like to rock on my guitar!

**Suntiger: **Ha! I did read your fic! Of my own free will of course…and I liked it! Did you get my review?

**DarkGoddess29: **HA! I know! She should hit him…and so should Hiei. They could have like…a gang fight! That would be sweet! Trust me, there is much more violence to come!

**Sausage: **She is cute, I usually don't like good girls but she's just so sweet! How could anyone not like her?!

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **I suppose you could pity Takashi…he was just left there! For some odd reason, I seem to leave my chapters at places where people want to keep reading it, like a reflex…very strange.

**Hieiloving101: **Thank you! Oh my God…Oh my God. Really? You want to be a professional editor? Because, I want to be a professional author! Spookular! Poor Kurama, he is so nice though! Ugh, Algebra II! I actually have Geometry; Algebra II is next year, yikes! You know, your review made my day. I'm so happy now!

**Smirking Arrogance: **Yes! Everyone seems to want to punch Takashi! Yes Hiei got a hug, and he loved every second of it. Cereal…hm…Golden Grahams…no wait! Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Argh! I can't decide!

**Jessica: **I'm glad.

**AnimeFreaks13: **Cool! I'm so happy you like it so much! Yep!

Inner Me: Basically…she says thank you.

Me: Yea…that's what I said…

**Shadow-Seeker-13: **Ha! I was waiting for you!

**I F. W I S H E S. W E R E. Y O U K A I.**

**Chapter 8-I Hate Ramen **

Hiei pulled his head up from the window sill in Kurama's kitchen and narrowed his eyes to see the clock. It was exactly midnight. It was December seventeenth, and only two days until the Spirit Protector was supposed to form fully. He stood up slowly in the dark and made his way to Natsumi's room. It had been a few hours ago that she finally fell asleep, what took her so long was Hiei. He kept popping in and asking if they were "cool" or whatever the idiotic term was. Hiei told himself he was going to her room to see what she had written in her diary but in reality he also wanted to check on her.

The curtains were drawn tight in Natsumi's room, binding out even the moon. Hiei lifted his boots over the mass of clothes and made his way to her dresser, where her diary was. He peered quickly Natsumi, who was out like a light. As soon as Hiei had left her room earlier after their argument, Botan was bombarding him with questions about the Christmas party she had planned. Kurama was the only one who seemed concerned as to where he was. He simply answered,

"Out," He decided not to tell the fox of his little adventure at the Okinawa Palace. He didn't want to give Kurama a heart attack now did he?

He picked up Natsumi's diary and opened it the most recent entry.

_Dear Diary,_

_Well I am really tired so I'll make this quick. Basically Hiei came to my date and punched Takashi! Yea it was actually really funny. Then Hiei and I had a huge argument and well…I don't know, but stuff just happened I guess. Weird stuff. I'm not sure what I feel anymore. You know what I'm saying? Anyways, I'm really tired so I'm going to hit the sack._

_Natsumi_

But Hiei wasn't quite sure what she was saying. "Does she hate me now or what?" Hiei reread the entry twice and finally, he decided she was just being complicated. And a girl. Girls were complicated. He was just about ready to put the diary down when he heard, "Stop that…" For a second, his heart stopped completely. He looked down at Natsumi, who was still asleep. But she just said that. She did say that, right? "Stop that Hiei; I don't want ketchup on my sushi…"

…She was talking in her sleep. Hiei let his heart start beating again. He thought for a moment she had caught him. He placed the diary on her dresser and knelt down the by the bed. Slowly and silently, he placed his arms crossed on the mattress and let his chin rest upon them. Hiei waited for her to speak again. He didn't know exactly why though. It was funny…and somehow comforting.

"We can go back if you want…the elephant…and then we can ride another roller coaster okay Hiei? Yea…I like spoons too…" What she was saying was making no sense at all and Hiei had to contain snickering so he wouldn't wake her. She suddenly stirred and flipped her body around she was facing Hiei. Their noses were only six inches apart. Her breathing was rhythmic and gentle, which is why Hiei found himself falling into a deep slumber…

---

Natsumi fluttered her eyelids a little and stretched. Light was squeezing its way through her curtains, painting the room in a splash of yellow-orange. When she finally opened them, there was a face to meet hers. The features were so soft and innocent she didn't think it was Hiei at first. But upon closer examination she realized it was Hiei. She smiled sleepily. _Oh that's nice…_Hiei's head was cradled in his arms, and he looked almost like a child. Then it hit her. Hiei was on her bed. Her bed. _…He was watching me sleep?! _

"Hiei…wake up." She shook the sleeping shadow even if she was enjoying the tranquility of it all. "Hn…what?" Hiei's sight was blurred but in a few seconds returned to normal so he could see that Natsumi was staring at him. Her hair was messed up and she was resting her cheek on her fist. "Ohayo…" she said. Hiei shot up and looked around quickly. Had he fallen asleep on her bed? He stood up and his knees almost failed him from sleeping with them in the position that he was.

"So you want to explain what you're doing in here?" she asked. The answers flowed through Hiei's head, but none of them sounded right. _I was reading your diary…I was watching you sleep…I was checking up on you…_

"You were talking in your sleep…" Hiei said. Natsumi cupped her hand over her mouth. "Oh, did I say anything stupid?"

"No," Hiei lied. The door to Natsumi's room was opened suddenly and Botan came in. "Where is…oh…" she winked slightly at Natsumi and left. Hiei brought his gaze to Natsumi, who brought her gaze to him. She jumped out of the bed before Hiei could move and ran out the door screaming, "Botan! Wait! That's not what happened! BOTAN!!!" Hiei smirked and left the room to get breakfast; it seemed things were getting back to normal.

By the time Botan and Natsumi stopped arguing everyone was just about starved. "We could have pancakes," Kurama suggested…

"I'm not making it." Natsumi said.

"I can't cook!" Botan giggled. Kurama sighed, "Well I have to work in the garden!" All three turned to Hiei who immediately backed up. "NO" Natsumi made her eyes water over. "Hiei, I'm hungry!" she dragged out the words and over exaggerated how hungry she really was. "Besides you pulled me away from dinner last night!"

Kurama blinked. "What?"

"Nothing," Hiei said quickly. "I'll make it…hn…" Botan smiled in satisfaction with Natsumi. "Oh that reminds me," Botan said, "Do you mind if I invite Yukina to the Christmas party Hiei?" Natsumi turned in question to Hiei, who glared at Botan, who looked to Kurama for help. "Who is Yukina?" Natsumi asked slyly. No one spoke and it was making Natsumi mad. "WHO IS YUKINA!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS KEEPING FROM ME!?" she demanded, almost steaming out the ears. "Just say it Hiei!" Botan pleaded.

Hiei crossed his arms. "You onna, this is your fault."

Natsumi frowned. "I thought we weren't going to keep secrets…"

"What? I never said that!" Hiei defended.

"You could have! Are we going to start fighting again?"

"…She's..."

"What? Your past girlfriend?"

Hiei cringed slightly. That thought was not something he wanted to pass through his head. "My sister!" he shouted. Natsumi was still in a cloud of confusion. "Okay…well what's the big deal?" Botan took a moment to explain that Yukina doesn't know, nor does Hiei want her to. "You have to keep it a secret." Botan said.

"Or I'll slit your throat." Hiei added. Natsumi gulped and smiled. "Okay, I can keep a secret." Satisfied with her answer, Hiei turned to the stove before saying. "I don't mind if you invite her."

"Great!" Botan cheered. "Natsumi, will you help me put up these decorations?" Natsumi reluctantly agreed. _I suppose it's better than cooking. _

The stove was Hiei's greatest enemy to date. Honestly he wasn't sure how to use it. The box of pancake mix was mocking him as well. Two eggs…milk…a whisk? He had no idea what those were. _I just won't make pancakes. _Hiei decided. He put the box back and looked for something else to make. That's when it caught his eye. The package of ramen…

Hiei thought back to when Natsumi was sick and Takashi brought her that cup of ramen. She seemed to be happy to get it. If Takashi could make ramen, so could Hiei. He turned the package over and looked at the directions. It seemed simple enough; only three minutes to cook. How hard could it be?

The water had just begun to boil when Hiei let the thick, hard noodles fall into the water. He watched it simmer. He would just stir it occasionally…simple enough. Only the ramen package didn't specify how hot the water should be and Hiei soon noticed a flame that shouldn't be there…

"Here…hand me the…hm…oh I know! Hand me the missile toe!" Natsumi pulled up the plant and handed it to the grim reaper. "Do we really need that?" Botan smiled. "Yep!" In Kurama's family room, there were red and green streamers hung everywhere. Now in the doorway was a missile toe. "No one could avoid it if you put it there!" Natsumi complain. Botan giggled. "But that's the point!" Natsumi shrugged and mumbled a, "Whatever,"

As the two continued to decorate, they couldn't help but smell the faint smoke near by. They glanced at each other and at the same time said, "Hiei…" They were met in the hall by Kurama, who smelt the smoke even from outside. And now above they could see a dark black cloud hovering. It was coming form the kitchen. The three stumbled into the kitchen and almost went into a coughing fit. "Hiei…what the hell did you do?!" Natsumi yelled. It was smoky but they could still see everything clearly.

Kurama ran over to Hiei with his fire extinguisher and sprayed it blindly. "I can't believe you burnt pancakes Hiei." Kurama said. Hiei got offensive. "Shows how much you know, I was trying to make ramen."

"Ew ramen, I hate that stuff." Natsumi called from the far end of the kitchen. Hiei now had a rather large sweat drop in the back of his head. "What?! I thought you liked ramen?"

"No, what gave you that idea? Oh...right. Well I was just doing that as part of the whole you know…jealousy thing! I hate ramen!" Hiei groaned in agony. He almost burnt down Kurama's kitchen for nothing. Natsumi's voice became softer. "Sorry Hiei, I didn't mean to make you go through all that trouble."

Hiei bit his bottom lip. Damn. He wanted to be mad too. He just couldn't stay mad. "Hn, its fine."

"Yes but what will we do for breakfast?" Botan complained. Kurama pulled the ramen pot away from the stove. "Actually, this ramen wasn't burnt, only the pan." Natsumi dug into her pocket and pulled out some yen. "I have enough to go out to eat. So I'll just stop at a crepe stand or something."

Kurama glanced at Hiei and then back at Natsumi. "Well I could always make something else."

"It's okay; I'll only be fifteen minutes." She made her way to the door and pulled on her shoes. "Bye!" Natsumi left Kurama, Hiei, and Botan alone in the kitchen. Actually, it felt weird without her around. Botan grabbed a pair of chopsticks. "Okay, let's eat!" Hiei walked over to Kurama and tugged on his sleeve. "I have a bad feeling." He whispered. "I'm sure she'll be fine…you can go if you want." Kurama assured him. "Hn, no I'll stay."

---

Koenma was working hard at his desk stamping things when he heard it. The noise that he had heard for the last fifteen minutes and it was annoying. It sounded like metal clanging together. Koenma finally threw his stamp down and stood up in anger, determined to find the noise.

He looked everywhere but couldn't see anything that would make such a noise. He waited to hear it again when Ogre came bursting in. "Koenma! Have you been hearing that noise?"

"Of course you blue ape! Now be quiet…I'm listening for it." The two men sat in silence and waited for the noise. After what seemed like hours, they heard it. In fact they sat it as well. It was coming from the silver bowl where the Spirit Protector was forming. Koenma jumped up and walked over to it. "No…no this isn't right. It shouldn't form for another two days!" The bowl started to rumble and Koenma backed up into Ogre.

Like a flash of blue it came out, and shot into the air like a snake and the two were thrown back into the wall. They stumbled up and saw that everything was a mess. It seemed as though the Spirit Protector had broken through the ceiling. And the Spirit Protector was now gone. "Why would it form so early?" Koenma asked himself. What was going on?

---

It was freezing outside. Still, there was no snow. Natsumi hugged herself to keep warm; her jacket wasn't enough. The crepe stand was only a few blocks from Kurama's house, so she didn't have to go far. It seemed only one other person was there. _Probably too cold for anyone else. _Actually she was surprised it was even open.

"Hm…one strawberry crepe wrap please." Natsumi pulled out her money and began to count it when some of her chains fell and scattered. "Dammit…" she muttered. "I'll get it." A voice sad to her. Natsumi looked up and saw a young man smiling. He was wearing a suit and had black dangling hair. He bent down and picked up the change. "Thank you," Natsumi said politely and reached for her crepe.

"No actually…I should be thanking you. You see, you saved me the trouble of having to find you…Natsumi." A wave of fear fell over Natsumi. Much like the fear she felt in the restaurant when she was first attacked. She saw a blade hit the vendor of the crepe stand in the neck, squirting blood and killing the man instantly. There was no one else around to be scene. Natsumi screamed and jumped back. _Not again…where is Hiei? _"I can't have you baring any children or that might make them strong and I couldn't have that. So I'm sorry but you have to die. I'll make it as polite as possible."

_He doesn't even look like a demon. This isn't happening. _Natsumi could handle regular street trash; she did all the time. But this…was different. This was a youkai. The youkai cracked his neck and raised his sword above his head. "Ready or not…!" Natsumi wasn't ready to give up her life. Not now. She dodged to the side and the sword only swiped her leg, but she was bleeding badly. The youkai was standing over her on the sidewalk and she was on the grass, clutching her leg. Natsumi gazed up at the youkai as he raised his sword for the last time.

As it seemed like everything was going to end, a flash of blue light appeared. In an instant the youkai was devoured by the blue light Natsumi saw. He didn't even have time to scream. The blue light suddenly came to a halt. Natsumi stood and still holding strong to her leg, limped over to the blue light, which had the shape much of…the blue light turned around so Natsumi could fully see it…

…a dragon. It had a one whisker on each side of its mouth and large fangs. The dragon was a light electric blue, with darker blue along the spine. It was long; the type you see in old Japanese folk tales. _Another youkai…no…it feels too gentle. Could this be the Spirit whatever? I thought it wasn't forming for another two days. _Natsumi reached out hesitantly to touch it, and the dragon allowed her to. "Wow…ouch." She squeezed her leg but the blood was oozing through her fingers. The dragon motioned its head to the side, signaling for her to get on. "Is that okay? What am I talking about of course it is." She climbed on slowly and pointed towards Kurama's house. "Go there,"

---

Hiei hadn't eaten. In fact he was fidgeting pretty badly. "Hiei, if you are that worried, just go see if she's okay." Kurama suggested for the second time. "No, I don't want to be nosy." Kurama placed his bowl in the sink. "Fine then stop worrying."

"Hn," Hiei crossed his arms impatiently. He was worried; he just couldn't shake this feeling. What was wrong? Suddenly, Hiei felt a jolt. Like some form of electricity had gone through him. He turned slowly to Kurama, who had felt it too. Botan then piped up. "Did you feel that?" Kurama jumped up and pointed to the door. "It's right outside!" Hiei unsheathed his Katana and Kurama pulled out his rose whip while Botan had her oar in hand. The door was forced open and no one was prepared for what they saw.

There was an electric blue dragon in the door way and on top of it was Natsumi. She let go of the dragon's whiskers and waved slightly. "Hi…" Everyone put their weapons down and rushed towards her. "Oh my goodness! What happened? This can't be…the Spirit…can it?" Botan asked petting the dragon. Natsumi nodded. "I thought it wasn't supposed to form for another two days though…"

"It probably sensed you were in danger and formed early. It must be powerful." Kurama said, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Hn," was Hiei's reply. He was the first to notice the wound on her leg. "Who gashed your leg?" Hiei asked, placing his hand on her leg and applying pressure. "Ow…I don't know…it was a youkai but…he looked normal and stuff."

"Where is he now?" Hiei asked again.

"…Dead." Natsumi lifted her leg over the other side of the dragon to get off when she felt a hand grab her own. It was Hiei's. Natsumi looked at Hiei and noticed a certain softness in his eyes that wasn't there earlier. She let him lift her off the dragon and wrap her arm over his shoulder to support her leg. "H-Hiei…"

"Don't talk; just try to walk to your room." Natsumi gave in and let Hiei help her to her room. She sat on the edge of the bed and Hiei left to get anti-bacterial and Kurama's plants. _This isn't like Hiei…not at all. _She smiled just thinking about it. _This is nice. _

Hiei came in a few moments later with gauze and medicine. He didn't speak; he still had his hard shell. But Natsumi could tell he felt bad. "Here, roll up your pant leg." Natsumi obeyed and as she did, more blood began to flow. Hiei placed the gauze on quickly and then peroxide. It stung badly and Natsumi had to bite her lip to keep from crying. Hiei didn't look up at her but said, "You know you can cry; I don't care."

Natsumi smiled. "I don't cry." Hiei smiled lightly as well, but continued to focus on her wound. After a few more minutes of holding on the gauze, Hiei took the bandages to wrap the cut. "Don't try to walk on it just yet. But you'll be fine."

"Thanks Hiei…"

"I have an obligation you know that." Hiei lied.

"Right…of course." The fire youkai got up and left her room, with Natsumi behind. _He really cares. Where have I been all this time that I only noticed it now? _

She wondered where the Spirit Protector had gone. _Can it disappear? _She heard the phone start to ring in the distance. "Hiei?" she called, but she didn't receive and answer. She heard Kurama's voice coming towards her room. "Kurama where's the Spirit thing?"

"It's gone, but it will come whenever you need help or call upon it…oh right, phone's for you." He handed her the cordless and she lifted it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Natsumi?"

"Takashi?"

"Yep, hi…"

"What's wrong with your voice, you sound congested."

"Yea my nose is broken."

"…Oh…I'm sorry…er…about that. Hiei was just…you know…hehe…"

"It's fine, really I'll be okay. He doesn't have to apologize."

"I don't think he plans to."

"What?"

"Nothing…"

"So Natsumi, the date was going well…until the accident."

"I guess so…why?"

"We should try it again soon."

"Actually Takashi, I don't think that's a good idea."

"You don't?"

"No"

"Why, is it because of Hiei?"

"No it's…you. I mean you're a cool guy but you aren't my type. Sorry."

"Natsumi, wait, I can-,"

"Takashi I have to go now."

"No w-," Natsumi hit the off button on the phone and let out a heavy sigh. Then she narrowed her eyes at the door. "Hiei I know you were listening…come out." Hiei sheepishly entered but he was smirking. Natsumi smiled. "So anyway, how about breakfast?"

Before Hiei could reply, the phone began to ring again. They both stared at it. _Please don't be Takashi…_they both begged silently. Kurama came rushing in to get it. "Hello?" Hiei and Natsumi held their breath. "…Oh hello mother."

"Phew…" Natsumi wiped an imaginary sweat drop off her for head. "Anyway Hiei, about breakfast, how about I make us pancakes?" Hiei helped her off the bed again and she hobbled to the door with him. "Hn, that's fine." They walked out into the hallway as Kurama was pacing by them and Botan was following him. When they got to the kitchen, Hiei helped Natsumi to the stove, and she showed him what a whisk was. Actually, it was kind of…cool.

"Yes mother, I miss you too." Kurama said, pacing the halls. He listened to the woman talk about how much she loved him. "I love you too mother, bye." Kurama hit the off button and shook his head. "What's wrong Kurama?" Botan asked. Kurama didn't speak. _Dammit…how am I going to tell Natsumi and Hiei this? _Kurama shook his head again.

And things were starting to go so well too.

That's it for chapter 8! Reviews are good, you should review! Yes you in the blue who has been reading this story and not saying anything! And you in the pink! You too!

Preview:

Kurama breaks rather…strange news to Natsumi and Hiei.

It finally snows!

Testosterone is a bad thing sometimes…for Natsumi that is!

Just as things start to go good, Natsumi finds out Hiei has been reading things he shouldn't.


	9. Isn't That Illegal?

**Mindless Blah, Blah #2: Oh my kami, my last chapter was fluffy wasn't it? Sometimes, fluff annoys me. But, I wrote it so I can't say anything! HAHAHA! Ahem…AnyWHO, sorry for the long wait, but I have to pass high school you know what I'm saying? Speaking of fluff…am I the only one who thinks it tastes really good with peanut butter? Huh? Because it does! **

**Thanks for over 90 reviews! **

**AnimeFreaks13: **Hehe, your reviews always make me giggle uncontrollably. Now I now Lana isn't your sister, so who is Lana? (Gasps) A demon? A GHOST!? Or maybe…not. Okay I'll just shut up and continue laughing.

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **You think? Men are so silly. Takashi had a broken nose so he really needs to just lay off and give Natsumi space so her and Hiei can get it on…obviously not right now! O.o

**Suntiger: **No problem, I love to review, reviewing is a passion of mine. (Not really, but you get the idea)

**Smirking Arrogance: **I know! I used to live by snow but now…there is no snow! It is very sad. But, we have hurricane days! Hurrah! Shame on Hiei, but it's his fault for snooping!

**Freak in Cage: **Why do I seem to be making people go crazy? I don't know…maybe I accidentally put crazy in my story! (Shifty eyes)

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **No, I am FAR from being done with this story. I expect more than twenty chapters…but I am not sure. Depends on the reviews I guess! Cute and fluffy is always good!

**The-one-who-wears-a-mask: **I missed your reviews! (Wipes away tears) Crepes are good. Especially the strawberry ones. Yum! Hiei would LOVE a house like that! So would Natsumi! But…a tree is good too!

**HieiFan666: **Hiei is going to kill me for ruining his reputation…oh well!

Wait strange news. Ok, I thought maybe his mom was coming home, but if it's strange then there's got to be more to it than that. It has something to do with his mother though, right!?!

Yep! It had to do with his mommy. Just wait and see!

I hate snow! I used to like it, but it's just to cold!!

I love snow! I don't live where it snows anymore so I miss snow a lot.

Does Hiei get horny or something!?!

As a matter of fact, yes, yes he does.

Oo! Hiei's in trouble! Hiei's in trouble! You should read someone's diary, that's bad!

Hiei's a bad boy. Well…not really. But still, he is going to be in gobs of trouble.

**Hesushika: **And it's about to get better!!! I think…

**KoorimeFireFox: **Thank you! I always update whenever possible.

**DarkGoddess29: **Yea they have a huge fight! Actually I found it kind of funny…but you have to read it to see what I mean. Poor girl…all those fire demon emotions and stuff. (Sighs) She'll get over it. I think…

**Hieiluver121: **Wow! I updated today! Hurrah for you! I was planning on updating today anyway. I would so email you…if I knew your email!!!

**I F. W I S H E S. W E R E. Y O U K A I.**

**Chapter 9-"Isn't That Illegal?" **

Kurama placed the phone on the cradle and sat down on a kitchen chair in deep thought. How was he going to tell Natsumi and Hiei this? Would they be okay with it? He didn't know. Kurama looked over at Natsumi and Hiei who were silently eating their pancakes. Even if Hiei had just shown a more…_human_ side a minute ago, he was still Hiei. And Hiei would never like this. _Natsumi has had quite a scare…so I'll just tell them tomorrow. Yea, tomorrow. _

The fox got up slowly and let Natsumi and Hiei enjoy the remainder of the day. "Yoo-hoo…Kurama come here and look at this!" Botan called. Kurama walked into the family room and gasped. He had to admit he was quite impressed with what Botan had done. The entire family room was decorated in green and red streamers with sparkles galore. "What do you think?" Botan was eager for Kurama's approval.

"It looks nice Botan, you did well."

"Well I'm not done yet. I still have the rest of the house."

"Er…Botan how much money did you spend on this?"

"Not more than a million yen Kurama!" Botan went of laughing into a world of her own. Kurama only sighed heavily and walked back into the kitchen. Not only did Botan shock him but now Hiei had shocked him as well. Maybe Hiei felt extremely guilty for not going with Natsumi and causing the cut on her leg, but whatever the reason…Hiei was being nice.

Wait…rewind that please.

…Hiei was being nice.

That didn't sound quite right to Kurama. Still, it was a change from the usual Hiei who was well…pretty much a jackass. "Kurama! You're out of whipped cream." Natsumi called, Kurama only nodded. "Of course…I know, actually let me run out and get some more. Botan would you like to come?"

Botan turned from her decorations and nodded. "Yea let me get a coat." In just a few minutes Kurama and Botan were gone and Natsumi and Hiei were alone. "Kitsune is in a good mood." Hiei stated. Natsumi agreed and grabbed Hiei's plate. While she stuck the dishes in the sink, Hiei sighed loudly and put his arms behind his hand leisurely. "So now what?" he asked.

Natsumi shrugged in her usual way. "I dunno…I'll be back in a second, hold on." Natsumi left the kitchen while Hiei stayed seated and mentally beat the shit out of himself. Why had he said that? _So now what? _She probably took it as him trying to _do _something with her, which was not his intention. In fact, he didn't want to do anything with her. Yea…he didn't have to do anything. Hiei got up to tell her just that.

Of course this was all a lie. But Hiei's ego was getting in the way of his common sense…again. He would have really enjoyed doing something with her but he wasn't going to admit that. Why should he? What business did she have telling him to do something with her?

Well…technically he had said it. Still, he could have just said no right off instead of letting her talk him into it; even if she didn't technically talk him into it. She must have poisoned him some how. Despite all this, Hiei made his way to the hall.

He knew she was in her room and didn't even bother to knock on her door. He twisted the knob and rushed in. "Never mind what I said I-," Imagine this in slow motion. Natsumi slowly turned her head and the strands of dark brown covered her eyes but she still saw Hiei. She, out of reflex, screamed and tried to cover her self. It could have been worse; at least she had pants on. But she wished she had her bra on.

She _really _wished she had her bra on.

To make matters slightly worse, Hiei wasn't moving. He had walked in on Natsumi without a shirt or bra and he didn't try to apologize or shut the door. He just stood there in spite of Natsumi's screaming. "H-Hiei, for Christ's sake shut the door! Stop looking at me or something! DO SOMETHING HIEI!" The fire youkai didn't think about what he was doing, it was natural.

His hand was grasped around her throat, hard enough to have a hold but light enough not to choke her. Natsumi stumbled back into the bed and barely kept herself from falling onto it.

When she said do something, she didn't mean that.

"Hiei…um…can you…let go so I can get my shirt on?"

"What?" Hiei's head shot up suddenly like he had blacked out for the past five minutes. His crimson eyes drifted slightly downward and once he noticed where his other hand was, he turned as red as his eyes. "Hiei…" Natsumi remained as calm as she possibly could. "It's common courtesy to knock before you enter a girls room…or any room for that matter. Now…maybe you could leave…so I can just…change. Please."

Hiei stepped away slowly and kept his eyes plastered to the wall. "Um…" Was all Hiei could get out before he disappeared. Natsumi quickly grabbed her shirt and bra and changed into the quickly. _His hand was on my breast…his on was on _my _breast. MINE. It was disgusting. It was gross…it was kinda_

…_nice? No, ew don't think that. _ In addition to her shirt, Natsumi also put on her sweater. Just in case. _Could I actually…be developing feelings for Hiei? I mean…I didn't think that- _She interrupted her own thoughts to find Hiei so he could apologize and they could move on.

"Hiei, where are you? Hiei…come on where are you?" She looked all around the kitchen, den, and even the bathroom but she could find him. "Are you really that embarrassed? Hiei it's okay it was an accident…for the most part. Hiei come on! This is childish." She crossed her arms in impatience and sat on the couch. She crossed her leg and pursed her lips, hoping Hiei could see her. "I'm waiting for you to show your face. I'm not mad, but I will be. So GET out here NOW."

In about five minutes Hiei came slinking in through the kitchen window. His face wasn't red but he had a sheepish look on. "Were you going to run away?"

"Hn, no."

"Well?"

"Sorry, I…should have…knocked."

"It's okay Hiei."

"Hn,"

Hiei was embarrassed, but only slightly. Actually Natsumi in general had begun to worry and bother and embarrass Hiei.

There was something about Natsumi that Hiei just couldn't get over. She had some how squeezed into his normal life. No matter what he did, it involved her. He knew…no he thought it was his Jagan but for some reason he couldn't stop thinking about her sometimes. Even if he was thinking about stupid she could be. The other thing he couldn't stop thinking about was when he walked into her room.

It was like a picture planted in his brain. She was thin, but not too thin. And she was so pale. Her skin was soft like a baby's. She felt so warm and…it just felt right to be there next to her. That close to her. The question was:

Why?

_That's stupid…shut up Hiei. Just shut up._ Hiei was about as passionate as a rock. And he wanted to keep it that way. He decided not to let Natsumi get any closer to him. She was poisoning him somehow. And his Jagan wasn't helping.

Natsumi on the other hand, had completely forgotten about the incident. Right now she was thinking about Yukina. _I wonder if she is as much of a bitch as Hiei can be. She's probably really mean. _

---

"So you see Botan that is why I was so upset after I got off the phone with my mother." Kurama finished. The two had left to get whipped cream a few hours ago and they had the cream, were deep in conversation. They stopped into a coffee shop and were on their seventh cup. Not to mention the cheesecakes they had.

"Oh my goodness…but Kurama you think that will work?"

"I don't know I mean…Hiei is so…Hiei. But I have been doing some research on the Jagan." He paused to sip his hot cocoa. Botan urged him on.

"And…?"

"Hiei has been around Natsumi a lot, so he probably hasn't noticed. But, I predict that the attachment his Jagan has to Natsumi will make Hiei agree to it. I think. But they do hate each other."

Botan laughed. "That's not true Kurama. You aren't that blind to it are you?"

"Blind to what?"

"Oh come on Kurama, they like each other! It's a cute little crush!"

"Heh…I don't know about that Botan."

Botan got all huffy and sat back in her chair. "Fine, your just a boy, what do you know?"

---

"You know I didn't like it." Hiei said out of the blue, interrupting Natsumi's thoughts. She turned to him in question. "Didn't like what?"

"Touching your boob; it was gross." He lied.

"Okay then…you know Hiei most _normal _men like that. Are you a queer?"

"What? NO!"

"Calm down it was just a thought."

"Hn,"

Natsumi and Hiei remained silent on the couch for the rest of the day, and finally Kurama and Botan entered. "We have whipped cream!" Botan cheered. Natsumi glanced at the clock and then at Botan and Kurama. She smiled slightly. "It's six in the evening…care to explain where you have been?"

"Uh…nowhere," Kurama said quickly. Natsumi's smile widened. "Oh, so can we expect kids?"

"N-No! Don't be stupid! We were talking." Botan defended. "Kurama you should tell them."

Hiei's ears perked up. "Tell us what?"

Natsumi was interested as well. "Yea tell us what?"

"Quiet onna." Hiei said. Natsumi shifted on the couch and stuck her tongue out at him. Hiei rolled his eyes.

What a childish girl.

Kurama pulled a chair up to the couch and buried his face in his hands before continuing. "Okay," he started.

"My mother is coming home on the nineteenth. As you know, today is the seventeenth. Well, she obviously can't come home to find a strange girl living in her house. So, I regret to inform you that…you have to move into your old apartment." The smile on Natsumi's face dropped. "W-what? I have to move back into my apartment?"

"Yes."

"Oh," Hiei could understand her disappointment; her apartment was a real shit hole.

Kurama continued, "And Hiei you will be moving in with her." Both Natsumi and Hiei twitched slightly.

"What?" Hiei demanded savagely.

"Isn't that illegal?" Natsumi pleaded. Kurama turned his head slightly. They definitely weren't taking it well.

"Well, no it isn't illegal."

"But, it's only like…a two room apartment! Only one bed! One bathroom!"

Kurama tried to calm her down. "Hiei sleeps in trees. You can share the bathroom. But you and Hiei should move out by the early morning on the nineteenth."

Natsumi stopped Kurama. "Wait. Why is Hiei moving in with me?"

"You see, his Jagan won't let him be too far from you. I've been researching it."

Hiei was pissed. "You went behind my back like that?"

"No Hiei it's not like that-…" Hiei got up anyway and stormed off leaving Natsumi with Kurama. "I-I…this is really sudden. I hope my lease is still up."

"I'm sure it is."

"You checked didn't you?"

"I called the super." Kurama said sheepishly. Natsumi sighed and stood. "Well, I guess I'll go pack." She moved slowly to her room.

---

When Natsumi walked into the bedroom she saw Hiei perched on her window sill. He turned to look at her. "What's wrong?" She waved him off with her hand. "I'm fine."

"I'm not stupid. You speak lies."

"Huh…whatever." She started grabbing clothes off her floor. "If you're that worried I can just stay outside the whole time." Hiei said suddenly. Natsumi turned around at him in shock. "N-No that's fine. It's not that." Hiei cocked his head. "Idiot. Is that all you think about?" she added quickly, hoping Hiei hadn't picked up on her flaw.

"Hn, whatever onna."

"Stop calling me that."

"No, onna."

"Shut up!" Natsumi came to the shocking realization that their bickering wasn't going to do any good, especially when they were going to be living together. She took a deep breath. "Hiei…if we are going to live together I have to know something; what are those bandages on your arm for?" That question had been in her head for a long time.

Hiei raised an eyebrow. "I'll tell you when you're old enough."

"What?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Later, I'll tell you later."

"O-kay then…" She rolled her eyes and continued packing up some clothes. What a day.

---

…_Where are you? Mommy? _A young dark brown haired girl moved slowly into her house, hoping someone was home. _Mommy? _

_Stop it…please stop it! _She moved further to the sound of her mother's voice. _Mommy? _ She gripped the end of her school uniform and cautiously opened the door the bedroom of her parents. _Mommy? _

On the bed lay her mother, bruised and bleeding; with her father leaning over her. He was shaking back and forth. _Mommy?! Daddy what are you doing? Stop it! _But he didn't stop. He just kept fucking her and beating her.

_Daddy please stop…_she broke into noisy tears on the floor. _Shut up! _Her father yelled. _Stop crying! _This only made her cry harder. Her mother's voice began to try to calm her. _Run away Natsumi..._

"Mom!" Natsumi breathed as she shot up in bed at Kurama's house. Her voice had lowered to a whisper but she was sweating and shaking. _It was a nightmare…just a nightmare. _She untangled the sheets from around her legs and took a deep breath. _Why would I…be dreaming of my dad? _The nightmare was all too real; it was just like the real thing. She shivered slightly; close to tears. _Shut up! Stop Crying!_ Her father's voice rang through her head and she held them back.

Natsumi finally made the effort to get out of bed. She rubbed the sleep out her eyes and turned to the window. "Uhn…Hiei?" The fire youkai was sleeping on her window sill, undisturbed by her calling his name. Suddenly the nightmare fell out of Natsumi's head, and all she could think was, _Was he here the entire night? _She made her way to the window and poked his chest softly.

"Hiei…wake up…" She kept her voice soft but as she looked out the window, she noticed the white powder on the ground. The outside was softly lit by the morning sun. She could see the snow was falling. Natsumi got excited very quickly. "Hiei, wake up! It snowed!" She shook him violently and awoke. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Look it snowed!"

"Hn, why is that important?"

"Oh my gawd Hiei…you are such a kill joy." She crossed her arms in annoyance. "Still! It snowed!"

"So you're okay then?"

"What?"

"You were screaming in your sleep." Natsumi lowered her eyes. "Oh, was I?" She silently walked over to her bed and sat on it. Hiei was waiting for an answer though. "So what was it all about?"

She kept her eyes in space. "Nothing,"

"That's a lie."

"Shut up! It's not your business anyway!"

"Hn, I don't care I was just killing time." Natsumi shrugged and picked up her diary to write in it. "I didn't think you cared anyway so it doesn't matter now does it?"

"Hn,"

"Hn," she replied back, mimicking Hiei. After a few minutes she set her diary down and went to use the bathroom. Hiei jumped off the ledge and opened her diary.

_Dear Diary, _

_I just had a nightmare about my dad. It's was really scary. It's funny because I haven't had a nightmare for a long time. Maybe it's because I have to move out? I don't know. But I have to move in with Hiei, which I admit isn't so bad. I'm tired of being lonely. You know though, he was being really nosy and asking about my dream. Like he actually cared or something and it pissed me off because he doesn't. Or he has a hell of a good way of hiding it. Last night, he walked in on my changing and his hand was totally on my boob. (Ew!) Then I thought maybe I might have liked it? But! I'm sure it was just hormones. And nothing more. Right? _

_Natsumi _

Hiei reread the last sentence. _Huh, what the hell? Does she- _His thoughts were immediately cut off by the frying pan coming into contact with his head. He turned around to view his attacker. "HIEI YOU LITTLE SHIT!" It was Natsumi. She had finally caught him in the act.

"Why did you! You read my diary you little piece of!!!! Oh my God you bastard! Get out of my room!" Hiei jumped up in defense. "So!"

"What do you mean so?! That's private! Asswipe!"

"Then get a damn lock!"

"I will then! So people like you can't read it! Now get out!"

"Fine I don't want to stay in here anyway!"

"Who cares!? You're so immature sometimes-…" In a flash, Natsumi felt cold steal on her throat. Hiei wouldn't have killed her. But he couldn't. "Shut up! I'm going!" Hiei stormed out into the hall and Natsumi slammed the door in anger. She opened it suddenly and screamed out the door,

"AND I DIDN'T LIKE IT WHEN YOU TOUCHED MY BOOB ANYWAY! PERVERT!"

From across the house, Kurama shot up in his bed. _What did she say? _Kurama had been listening to the fight but he didn't know about that. He looked out his window at the freshly fallen shrouds of snow. Today should have been a nice day.

But that was too much to ask wasn't it? _Poor girl, this is really hard for her. But she'll live…_

…_hopefully. _

THE END OF CHAPTER 9

WOW! Double digits next chapter! I want you! To review! I want…lots of reviews! **I won't move on until I get** **twenty** **reviews for this chapter!** MUAHA! Or maybe a little less…but still…that would be nice!!!

Preview:

So they finally have to move in, hurrah! Hiei and Natsumi didn't want to live together at first but, secretly they do!

Although Natsumi isn't talking to Hiei, a bad thunderstorm reveals a secret Natsumi has.

Natsumi leaves to find Hiei a Christmas gift. How sweet. But, did he remember to get her something? What did he just accuse her of?!

Takashi comes to Natsumi's apartment and Hiei makes a scary threat. (Gasps)


	10. Then There Was Lightning

**Mindless Blah, Blah #3: I love Hiei and torturing him is so much fun! Reviews are so pretty! I'm happy! This is also, my first stab at writing part of this chapter from Natsumi's POV so…yea. WOW! I actually got more than 20 reviews. I'm so happy!**

**Thanks for over 120 reviews! And a special thanks to my 100th reviewer: JESSICA! YOU ROCK MY NON-EXISTANT SOCKS! **

**VERY IMPORTANT: AHEM! Okay, so in this chapter, Natsumi does not go shopping for Hiei's present. She _BEGINS _to. And then we get more into that in the eleventh chapter. Mkay? Cool! **

**HieiFan666: **OH yes, they are so in love. If only they could wake up and smell the…er…something. She might be afraid of lightning! Damn…you're so good at guessing. It's semi-wishful thinking…but he does do something.

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **All men are idiots, unfortunately. Weird in a good way? Or a bad way?

**Sausage: **Purple penguin…where have I heard that before? Oh trust me, he got something from it.

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **Doom. Lots of doom.

**Real Rin: **Of course!

**SomeOnesOutThereForMe: **I'm so glad! I love to entertain!

**Maddie O.: **I don't like him either! Even though he didn't do anything. He is still stupid.

**Jessica: **Weird is good right? Right? I suppose…it may get even weirder but it will return to normal soon. By the way, thank you! You are my 100th reviewer!

**AnimeFreaks13: **Ha I knew it! Hm…a copier fox demon. Nice. The ideas come from my everyday life (Which goes to show how incredibly crazy I am) and some from my brain. Hehe!

**Hieilovin101: **No worries, it's quite alright. I hate teachers. And parents…actually I only have one parent on my back, the other one is…wherever he is. Yea Natsumi does fear relationships. For unknown reasons but we can assume it has something to do with her dad. You gave up sleep for me? I think I'm going to cry! Okay…get a hold of yourself. I got it. I gave up sleep many times to write this, I suppose we sacrifice for what we love.

**Smirking Arrogance: **Probably more broken bones. What can you do? Hiei's a violent person! Thank you! I'm glad it was a good idea. I just couldn't leave Kurama's mom out of the picture.

**Sunshine14586: **Thank you so much! I'm writing as fast as I can!

**Suntiger: **(Laughs harder) I try, I really do.

** Smiley Person: **He is an evil boob toucher! But…he's so cute! (Huggles Hiei) Muaha!

**Sausage: **Well it seems my story is in high demand. But I'm so cold I can hardly type.

**Keri25: **I am absolutely happy that you like my story!

**Shannon: **Uh…

**Property of Hiei: **Thank you very much. Question, has Hiei branded you with a mark to show that you're his property? The thought is traveling in my head. Don't ask.

**Not a Monkey: **Cool!

**Blacksammicat15: **Yep, yep, thank you, yes, yes, and more yes! You readers are so smart these days. I shall do my best for more fab jobs!

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **But if they got together now, where would the fun be in development? I like to make you wait! Muahaha!

**Shadow-Seeker13: **Step-dads are evil! I don't have one, but my mom has a boyfriend so I know what you're going through. I'm glad you're back though! I was worried you got lost…on the internet… (That made no sense)

**Felinoel: **Poor Kurama, they've put him through so much.

**Hesushika: **(Laughs in an evil manner) Yea, I know! I have so much fun being evil!

**DarkGoddess29: **You're about to find out how.

**Dead: **Thank you! I really am trying to keep him in character. Really, I am.

**I F. W I S H E S. W E R E. Y O U K A I. **

**-**

**-**

**-**

**Chapter 10-Then There Was Lightning**

_-_

_-_

_-_

It was the seven in the morning and the date was the nineteenth. For the past twenty four hours, Natsumi had not said one word to anyone. She just packed quietly. Kurama had tried to get her to speak and talk about what happened. He was quite curious to know about the "breast" incident. If it was what he thought it was, then the moving situation would not work out at all.

There wasn't much that anyone could do though. Hiei was ignoring everyone as well. Even Botan couldn't stand the silence. She had left to go to Yusuke's. But Natsumi just packed like nothing was wrong. The duffle bag was stuffed to the bone with posters and clothes. When Kurama looked in Natsumi's room, it was completely bare. It looked like no one had ever lived there. Kurama had to admit he was quite impressed.

The fox walked into the den where Natsumi was sitting and sighed a bit before speaking. "You did a nice job cleaning up."

"Hn…" Oh yea, she was pissed. Kurama felt awkward just being in her presence. "So um, you got up early today, I'm surprised. I know you like to sleep."

"It's too early to be alive." She groaned. Kurama was surprised that she had finally chosen to speak. He felt less tense now that she had done so. "Well, my mother should be home at noon so at around ten you should get going with Hiei…" he trailed off and waited for her response. She didn't answer but got up walked into her old bedroom. "What a child, she's being difficult." Hiei stated from behind.

Kurama turned around and tutted off into a world of his own. "Hiei correct me if I'm wrong but you too are being difficult."

"Hn, no I'm not."

From the hallway you could hear a girl shout, "Yes you are! Just apologize!"

"Why should I be sorry? I don't have to apologize."

"Be a man! Or in your case…demon…but still!"

"Oh my God…" Kurama slapped his hand to his forehead and left the bickering couple to their fighting. "You don't even have to mean it just apologize!"

"No,"

"You have such an ego problem!" She screamed, before slamming the door. Hiei hn'd and perched himself on the window sill. Even if it was true, he saw no reason to apologize. It was her fault for not locking the diary or the door. About a minute later she exited her old bedroom and took a seat on the couch to watch TV. She slowly gazed over at Hiei who smirked at her. She flicked him off.

**Natsumi's POV-**

Oh my God…he's smirking again. He's been doing that all morning. What an Asswipe. Just because I _may _have liked him touching my breast…which I didn't! Still, if I did, and he knows. That's a bad thing. Because he knows about it. I can't believe I didn't put a lock on the stupid diary. This is so stupid. Hiei smirked at me again in that 'I know your dirty secret' sort of way.

I. Am. Fucked.

I am fucked three times until Thursday…whatever that means.

Kurama isn't helping either. He keeps trying to bring it up, which I know he is. He can be such a girl sometimes. Okay, so Hiei touched me breast that's a big deal. It's a big fucking deal. I hate him so much! Just for making me like that. Which he did on purpose I bet. Stupid fire demons. He's never going to let me forget this.

Man I am so fucked.

It's okay. I'll just stare at the TV and pretend like I don't care. But still, I can tell Hiei is watching me; I can feel his eyes on the back of my head. I have to leave this house in one hour with him and I can't even look at him. That's not good. I could look at him if I wanted to. But he'll just smirk at me. Stupid Hiei. Stupid…man I hate him!

Look at the way he sits there smirking like he knows everything. With his stupid hair and those eyes…which are kind of nice looking if you really look at them. Damn. This sucks. How am I supposed to live with him? He's…good looking. Wait. Since when was Hiei good looking?

Damn. I mean I always thought he was kind of cute but _damn._ How am I supposed to stay mad at him?DAMN!

Okay Natsumi be calm. Just don't look at him. His butt's nice too. AH! Shut up brain! Stop thinking!

**Normal POV-**

Hiei raised one brow in curiosity. What was that girl doing now? It looked like she was hitting herself in the head. Every few seconds he could hear her mutter the word, "Damn." She finally turned to look over at Hiei. She looked pissed and little troubled. "Dammit Hiei…! If we are going to live together you have to stop being stupid!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"…Fuck if I know! But it means something!" She crossed her arms. "Technically, I shouldn't be talking to you, but given the circumstances I will. But I'm still pissed at you. Got that?"

"Hn, no. You're not making sense."

"That's your fault!"

"Fool, you speak lies."

"Whatever…so do you plan on sleeping outside?"

"Do you _want _me to sleep in your bed?"

"N-NO! Ew…but you could sleep on the window sill you know." As they endured in 'normal' conversation, Kurama entered the room. He was quite surprised to see them talking. Actually he thought it was just plain weird. "Natsumi, can I have a word with you?"

"Uh-huh, I'm coming."

As soon as she walked into Kurama's bedroom, she knew something was up. Kurama had a strange look on his face that made her want to run. _Is he mad at me for something? _She wondered. That's when he asked her the weirdest question.

"Natsumi do you fear relationship?" Kurama asked.

She blinked twice before distorting her mouth. "W-hat?" she replied. "Well," Kurama started. "You seem to get closer to Hiei a little and then all of a sudden you push him away."

"He read my diary! And he didn't care and then he-,"

"Natsumi,"

"What?"

"Do you think Hiei can be immature?"

"Like hell he can!"

"Well then you will have to be the adult."

"As in…"

"Don't get mad over everything he does. You guys are so nice together when you aren't fighting."

Natsumi slowly backed towards the door. "I warped your mind didn't I?" Kurama sighed and nodded slightly as a joke. Natsumi laughed back slightly. "Anyway, it's about time to go don't you think?" Kurama said finally. She nodded.

"Yea, it's about time."

In a burst of confidence, Natsumi opened Kurama's door and marched down the stairs where Hiei was. "Hiei…" she started.

"What?"

"…You're an evil boob toucher. But I am going to forgive you because I am a mature adult. HA!" She pointed her finger at him and smiled wide. "So anyway, are you ready to go or what?" Hiei darted his eyes to Kurama who just shrugged in reply. "Hn, O-kay then." Kurama pointed to the clock. "It's time to go. The snow fall isn't that heavy, so it should be easy to get over there."

Kurama opened the door as welcoming as he did when Natsumi first entered. "Thanks for everything Kitsune." Natsumi said, dragging the green bag out the door. Kurama waved to her slightly. _She must have got Kitsune from Hiei._ "Oh right, wait Natsumi!" Kurama fiddled around in his pocket for a moment before removing a brown paper bag. "This is from Koenma."

Natsumi took it and stared. "Uh…drugs?" Kurama slapped his hand to his forehead. "It's money."

"Oh…thanks!"

She exited the house and counted the money."Hn," Was all Hiei said, as he left the house. Kurama rolled his eyes playfully and shut the door. Now he was going to have a nice hot soak in his bathtub for the next three hours.

About half way to the apartment Hiei grabbed the green bag and began to carry it.

"Thanks."

"Your dragging it, it's going to rip."

"Uh-huh…" The city was almost barren because it was so cold. There were only a few people but Hiei tried hard not to touch them. "What are you afraid you're going to catch a disease?"

"Hn, no, but humans are disgusting." Natsumi rolled her eyes. "So what, I'm disgusting too?"

"Hn…I suppose you're an exception." She smiled. They continued to walk until they came to an intersection that basically separated the better half of the city from the worse. They took the intersection that led to the worse. "It's just around the corner by the convenient store." They walked up to a brick building, with an old but strong structure. The entrance door was broken, but the 'elevator' they took to the top floor led onto the roof. In the middle of the roof was a box looking building. _That _was Natsumi's apartment.

She pulled the rent notice envelope out of the door and searched for her key. Hiei sighed. "Please tell me you have a key." She laughed nervously, and dug further into her pocket. "Ah-ha, I told you I had it!" She opened the door and smell of stale Pocky filled their noses. "Home sweet home."

"What is that smell?" Hiei asked, scrunching his nose together. "Hehe…well…I haven't emptied my trash in a while." The apartment was just like Natsumi had left it. There was a small entrance followed by a bed which was thrown messily on the floor. The bed and the floor were both covered in old manga. There was a door that separated the bed from the kitchen, which looked like it hadn't been used in years. The bathroom was in slightly better shape however. "If you can believe it, this place was worse looking before I got here. I cleaned it up a little."

"Obviously, not enough."

"Ha, ha." She answered sarcastically. She pointed to the bed so Hiei could throw her bag down and went to empty the trash.

_Ring,_

_Ring, _

"…Hello?"

"…Kurama is that you?" Botan asked. Kurama shot up in the bath. "Yes…heh, hi."

"Are you okay?"

"Well Natsumi and Hiei just moved out a few hours ago, so I was just-,"

"Relaxing?"

"Yep," He heard Botan giggle over the phone. "Well Yusuke and Kuwabara wanted to know when you party was." Kurama thought for a moment. They didn't actually have a set date. "Er…I guess it will be on Christmas Eve."

"Great, then Yukina can make it!" Kurama nodded in thought. He was eager for Natsumi to meet Yukina. Her and Hiei were so different. He turned his head to the wall and heard thunder in the distance. "Botan I should go sounds like a storm is coming. My mother should be home soon as well."

"Okay Kurama, bye!"

The fox got out of the tub and to his window. _Wow, that looks like a bad storm. _

"Did you hear that?" Natsumi asked, looking up from her instant sushi. Hiei nodded. He was perched on her window. Just a few seconds after she said that, rain began to fall. "It's a storm."

Natsumi immediately let a look of panic wash over her face. "A storm…but its winter!" Hiei squinted at her in dismay. "So?" She shrugged and got up to put her bowl in the trash. "I just think that's unusual."

"Don't you learn that in that school thing you ningens go to?" Natsumi furrowed her brow. "I quit school a while ago, I told you that." Hiei nodded. "Oh, right." The chocolate haired girl narrowed her eyes. "I'm not stupid though, if that's what you're imply-,"

_CRACK! (As in, a crack of lightning and thunder) _

In less than one second, Hiei felt someone cling to his arm and scream like a girl. Hiei gazed to the window, then to Natsumi. "What are you doing?" She shot up. "Nothing…"

"Then why are you on my arm?" Natsumi sighed loudly. "I…don't laugh! I…I'm afraid of thunderstorms! They really scare me!" She cringed and waited for reticule but instead heard…laughter? This was rare. Hiei was snickering uncontrollably but he refused to laugh out loud. "That's so stupid." He managed to spit out. "H-hey! Shut up!" She wanted to be angrier but Hiei smiling was so rare she didn't want to stop. "Yea, yea, laugh it up." She paused to look at him. "You know, you should smile more often, you look good."

Hiei stopped 'laughing'. "What did you-," Before he could finish there was more thunder and Natsumi grabbed him around the shoulders and didn't let go. "Holy crap, don't move!" Hiei stiffened up like a rock and felt warmth coming to his cheeks as the girl buried her head in his chest.

Despite how uncomfortable Hiei felt at the moment, for some reason he let her continue to cling to him. There was silence for about five minutes. "So…um…how long do you think this storm will last?" Hiei stared out the window. "It should pass soon."

"It's going to be really slushy outside."

"Hn, I suppose."

"Hiei?"

"Hn?"

"Thanks…for this I mean. I know I look like a complete idiot."

"Hn…it's okay. Just don't mention this to anyone."

She smiled and shook her head. "Whatever you say."

They two stayed together until the storm had finally passed. But, Natsumi didn't move, and neither did Hiei. There was no thunder at all but she still held him. "Uh…the storm is over." Natsumi let go and stood up. "Oh yea…right…sorry." They stood up awkwardly and moved to opposite sides of the room.

"So uh…" they both started and then stopped and waited for the other to finish. But none of them continued. Finally Natsumi climbed into her bed and began to read while Hiei moved back to the window. The sun was about to set and it looked like it might snow again.

Weather is weird.

_Ding, dong. _

Natsumi looked up at Hiei. "Kurama?" she questioned. Hiei shrugged. Natsumi got up walked to the door. "Uh, Kurama?" There was no answer. Natsumi decided to just open the door. _Too bad I don't have a peep hole. _

There, soaking wet, in the flesh, was Takashi. (Who saw that coming! Just kidding!) "T-Ta-Taka-…you!" she stuttered out. "How did you…how do you know where I live?"

"Your old address is still listed in the phonebook as here."

"OH…" Natsumi peered over at Hiei who looked up at her. "Who is it?" he asked. Takashi titled his head. "Is Hiei in there?"

Natsumi leaned against the doorway. "No-o…"

Hiei's eye twitched. "Is that…Takashi?" Natsumi gulped. _Oh shit. _She turned to Takashi. "You should leave…now." But Takashi didn't seem to take the hint. So Hiei got up from the window and walked over to the door. "You." He spat.

Takashi blinked. "Why the…why is he in your apartment?" Natsumi thought for a moment. "Uh…we live together."

"What? Isn't that illegal?" Natsumi shook her head. "Takashi, go now or I'll re-break your nose." The wind blew a chill through everyone before Takashi finally spoke again. "Why are you living with him?"

"Look it's not what you think and it's not your business so go!" She yelled, almost screamed. Takashi clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "I don't understand how you could-," Before the boy could finish, Hiei grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted it up. "Listen to me you ass wipe, she doesn't want to see you again. So leave or I'll kill you. I swear it; I will hunt you down and cut off your head."

The grip on Takashi's shirt loosened as Hiei set him down. Natsumi could only stare at Hiei with her mouth open. "Now get the hell out of here." Hiei finished. Takashi stumbled away without looking back at them. "…Wow." Was all Natsumi said. Hiei glanced at her. "I mean…wow Hiei where did that come from?"

Hiei shrugged and smirked at her. "That was nothing." They walked inside and Natsumi retook her position on the bed. "I can't believe he looked me up in the phone book. What a stalker."

"Hn, I know." Natsumi smiled slightly. She was going to continue reading when she glanced at Hiei. _He really stood up for me back there. _She put her book down and grabbed the paper bag on the floor. "There's about five hundred in here…" she told herself. _I should get Hiei a present with some of this. _She peered out the window then back at the money. "Hiei, I have to go out somewhere. I'll be back in about an hour."

"Where are you going?" Natsumi cringed. She knew he was going to ask that but she didn't want to say she was going to get him a present. "Uh…out." She grabbed her winter jacket and tried to get it on and get out quickly. "Are you going to find Takashi?" Natsumi almost dropped her money. "W-What! No! I'm going out to buy you a Christmas present! Geez! I was just trying to make is a surprise! Are you happy now?"

Hiei frowned at himself. "Hn," Natsumi left the apartment and trudged through the sludge on the ground to get downstairs. Hiei cursed at himself.

"You idiot."

He supposed now he should get her a present too. Damn. That wouldn't be easy.

Just so you know, I shall continue the shopping when I write the next chappie.

Oh-no! I burnt my bacon! I know these last few chappies were kinda weird but the weirdness is gone! More reviews please!** Like maybe 40 reviews? Please? That would be so cool! **

Preview:

Natsumi and Hiei visit Kurama and everyone, and Kurama notices how incredibly right they are for each other…because they're so damn weird.

A certain fire demon has never been sledding before. Natsumi can change that.

"Hiei I only know your first name…and…that just won't do. I really want to _know _you Hiei."


	11. Freaks Flock Together

**Mindless Blah, Blah 4: I love cheese. **

**I was thinking today and-**

**Hiei: Run for cover…**

**SHUT UP PINEAPPLE HEAD!**

**Freak in Cage: **Hello again! Even if you did send twenty reviews, I already got thirty so that would make fifty! Wow. Anyhoo, I somehow put chapter 10 up right when you reviewed so I didn't get it, sorry! I know! He's finally developing feelings!

**HieiFan666: **If Hiei smacked into a tree I would piss my pants writing it! I think I will! HEHEHE! AHAHA! Anyway, who do you think said it? Who else could have possibly done such a thing? HM? HM!

**Hesushika: **Uh…I don't know exactly. I mean, they could right now but uh…that'd be weird. ACTUALLY, I do have a nice little scene about _that _planned out for them eventually. It will be great!

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **Lucky for Takashi, we won't be seeing him for quite a while now. Ah I see: weird good, strange bad. All humans (and demons) are idiots. That's why we belong together!

**Property of Hiei: **I know, they can't hate forever, I tried to tell them! When Hiei chooses a mark, I want to know what it is! Is he gonna bite your neck? That would be freaky…in a cool way though!

**Hiei's Dark Abyss: **Just so you know, I reviewed your story! Yep, I did! Thanks a lot; I really tried to make that tension…so yeay! Obviously, I am not a flamer. It is down right mean. An imagination is an imagination. Just because someone doesn't like it gives them no right to criticize it.

**Suntiger: **You have to wait and see! Did you update My Healer yet? I want to keep reading that you know!

**Vampire-Myu: **I will don't worry! I'm glad you like my story so much!

**AnimeFreaks13: **OH neatness! But I already had a present picked out that she gets him…but maybe he gets her that…hm…Just Call me Blue…I like that. Very nice.

**Priestess Rin: **Wow, if he kidnapped her that would just be WAY over the line. Hiei would go berserk!

**Sausage: **Its okay, I made more bacon! Well I used to live in Massachusetts…but not anymore! Now I'm in Florida…but for some reason it's only thirty degrees here…

**Hieiluver121: **Don't worry about it! You think about it in bed? Cool…I think.

**Smirking Arrogance: **I know! Takashi is such a nuisance. Natsumi is definitely going to be surprised when she meets Yukina. Thank you so much! I'm trying so hard to keep them in character!

**DarkGoddess29: **(Laughs very hard) Hiei is the coolest isn't he!

**Jessica: **Yep, yep! Don't you feel very special? 100 is a very cool number I might add. At least, Takashi is gone! Yeay!

**Felinoel: **Hi you two other people!

**Mason the Crazy: **Must type…updating…nice penname by the way.

**Green Tea Leaf: **Hooray!

**Spellwing: **Yes! A digital cookie! It's what I have always wanted! I think…

**Kihin no Miko: **Don't worry fluff is coming! Doesn't your penname have something to do with a virgin or a saint? Something like that…I don't know…it looks familiar.

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **Don't worry! They get together VERY soon. With lots of fluff too!

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **Is your floor covered in manga too? Actually…I think that would be pretty cool.

**Sesshy's-Punk-Girl: **Thanks a bundle! Your penname has to do with Sesshomaru right? Because I think it's really cool!

**Sara-chan10: **Haha! If Hiei went snowboarding…oh yes the joy of that…such joy. (Ponders…) Yusuke could definitely snowboard! But not Kuwabara…hehe what an idiot.

**Sunshine14586: **Okay fine! I wont…I actually wasn't planning to, it was just motivation! Tee-hee.

**I F. W I S H E S. W E R E. Y O U K A I.**

**Chapter 11-Freaks Flock Together**

Natsumi grabbed onto the handle of the store and clung to it for dear life. She tripped five times on the sludge just trying to walk two blocks. The sign on the store said, 'Swords of the Feudal Era'. She walked in and began to look at the katana on the wall. _Should I buy him a new sword…or maybe something else? What if he doesn't even want a present? _She sighed and hung her head low. _This is going to be harder than I thought. _

"Can I help you?" A blonde haired woman asked. Her name tag said, "Hiroko". Natsumi faked a smile. "Uh yea, I want to see that black katana on the wall please." The woman stared at the katana and then looked Natsumi up and down. "How old are you?" There was a slight twitch in Natsumi's eye. "Not old enough for you." The woman laughed nervously. "I mean technically you have to be eighteen to purchase on of these."

"Well it's not for me it's for my…uh…boyfriend." Natsumi mentally slapped herself. _My boyfriend? WTF? _"For Christmas." She finished. The blonde woman smiled. Then she gazed around for her manager before whispering. "Well if your boyfriend is eighteen, then I will let you purchase the sword." Natsumi nodded. _My boyfriend…what the hell… _

The katana was really a piece of work. It was all black with a red ribbon tied around the handle. There was a red dragon wrapped around the sheath. "With all the expenses the katana comes to about 120 dollars."

"Damn…" Despite the price, she dug out the money from her coat pocket. She reluctantly handed over the money to Hiroko. _Hiei better appreciate this. _Hiroko removed the katana from the shelf and began to wrap it. "Bring your boyfriend by when you want to pick this up. We will hold it until then."

Natsumi nodded and began to walk out. _I can bring Hiei here, and then he'll get the sword. That sounds good._ She bundled up and began to ponder more on why she called Hiei her boyfriend. _What the hell was up with that? Hiei is NOT my boyfriend. Definitely not…but it sounds more believable to that Hiroko sales lady. I only did it so I could buy the damn thing. Yep. Definitely, it was not anything more. _

_Who am I trying to prove this to anyway? _She rolled her eyes at herself and made her way to the apartment.

-

When she walked in, Natsumi wasn't exactly expecting warmth, because her apartment had no heat. In fact, it was almost as cold as outside. She kept her coat on and searched for Hiei. "Hey where are you?" When Hiei came into her view the phrase 'boyfriend' scrolled through her mind. She almost blushed. Hiei lifted his finger and pointed to her phone. "Your phone machine rang."

"O-kay,"

"It was Kurama."

"O-kay,"

"He wants us to come over later. Botan, Yusuke, and the fool will be there too."

"O-kay…well…that's cool. Are we going?"

"Hn, I suppose if you really want to."

"Isn't his mom home though?"

"Yea, so don't swear."

"The hell? I don't swear…okay point taken. What time are we going over?"

Hiei shrugged. "I don't know, whenever." Natsumi nodded in agreement. They were silent for a moment before Hiei looked around her. She turned to each side. "What are you doing?"

"Where's my present?" Hiei demanded. Natsumi laughed slightly. "Why would I tell you that?" Hiei crossed his arms in annoyance. She was taunting him and now he really wanted to know. "What did you get me?"

She shook her head. "Hiei if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise." The fire demon narrowed his eyes at her. "Tell me." Natsumi still declined. She was going to make him wait until Christmas. Hiei began to make his way back to the window, as a fresh snowfall started. There was a big question running through Natsumi's head since the day she had met Hiei. "Hey, that Jagan on your head…does it control part of your brain?"

Hiei stopped in his tracks and turned to Natsumi. Where had that come from? "Why do you ask?" Natsumi twiddled her thumbs and tried to look inconspicuous. "Well, I mean like…you said that your Jagan wants a mate but you don't. So…what's up with that?" Honestly, Hiei wasn't quite sure. Natsumi continued her questioning. "Why did your Jagan choose me?"

There it was.

The question was now out in the open.

The only problem…was no one knew the answer.

One day Hiei saw her as she was walking to work, and his Jagan was immediately attracted to her. He had no idea why but he...his Jagan…wanted her. But that wasn't the answer he was prepared to give. "Hn, it doesn't matter. Are we going to Kurama's or not?" It was obvious that Hiei was avoiding the issue so Natsumi dropped it. "Yea I guess we could go now."

They both exited the apartment in silence. Really, Hiei did want to know why his Jagan chose her. What obviously didn't occur to either of them was that maybe it Hiei's choice and he was just denying it?

No.

They didn't think so.

It was snowing outside. Not like it was blizzard; just nice fluffy snow. Despite this winter wonderland scene, no birds or squirrels were out. Mind you they would have been but it was so damn sludgy from all the cars they couldn't leave their nests. All of this was because the humans had to build roads. All because of corporate greed and-

Eh? What? Oh, terribly sorry, wandered off track there for a moment.

Anyway, Natsumi playfully stuck her tongue out to catch falling snowflakes while twirling like she was a dancer. "Would you stop doing that?" Hiei complained. She frowned slightly at him and stopped dancing but she just missed the smirk that had played on Hiei's lips. She continued to try and catch the falling snow and by the time they reached Kurama's, her tongue was almost frozen.

"So Hiei…what would you do if your Jagan did win and like…you know…we had to mate and what not?" Natsumi asked, as the walked up to Kurama's door and rang the bell. Where were all these questions coming from? Hiei certainly wasn't prepared to answer them honestly.

"That doesn't matter. Look around you, when people get close to someone they only get hurt. Then you feel an even deeper regret just because of your pathetic need for affection."

Ouch.

Still, he didn't answer her question, and she wanted to know why. Lately Hiei seemed to avoid things with her. But just as she was about to interrogate him Kurama came to the door and let them in. Natsumi was immediately greeted by Botan, Kuwabara, and Yusuke so she forgot all about Hiei's 'constant PMS'. Yusuke jabbed her lightly in the ribs. "So what have you and Hiei been doing lately?" She narrowed her eyes and felt her face grow hot. "Nothing…!" That was the truth, but the way she said it made it sound like so much more.

Yusuke winked at her and she tried to rub the blush off her face. Obviously, it wasn't working.

As she made her way further through the Christmas decorations, she saw a rather petite woman on the couch. _That must be Kurama's mom…she's so…gentle looking. _The woman looked up at Natsumi and smiled. "Hello, you must be Natsumi." She stuck her hand out and Natsumi shook it. She turned to Kurama, who signaled for her to follow them to his room.

"Alright," Botan started. "The Christmas party is on the 24th and we can all make that right?" Everyone nodded with the exception of Hiei. Kuwabara got up suddenly and began to dance. "And Yukina is coming too right? Yukina my love!" Natsumi glanced at Hiei, who looked like he was trying to burn a hole through Kuwabara with his eyes. She remembered that she wasn't supposed to say anything about Hiei and Yukina being twins.

(A quick note here: I know in the anime they are only half siblings, but in the manga they are twins and I like that much better!)

"Yusuke, is Keiko coming?" The ebony haired boy nodded with a sigh. "Who's Keiko?" Natsumi asked. Yusuke smiled slightly. "My girlfriend, she can be a real nag but she's cool you know what I'm saying?"

"I guess…"

Kurama quickly changed the subject. "Is Genkai coming?" Botan nodded with a smile. "Yes, and Shizuru is as well." Kuwabara made a small 'eep' sound. It seemed like the whole party was ready to go. Hiei retreated to a darker corner of Kurama's room where Natsumi followed.

"Hiei," she called. He looked up at her but didn't speak. She continued. "You never answered my question."

He played dumb. "What question?"

"You know what question Hiei."

The fire demon simply crossed his arms. "So what about it?"

"I would like an answer."

"To what?" Hiei asked again. Oh this was making her mad.

He was so dead.

"Hiei I can annoy you into more than you could ever annoy me!" By this time, they attracted some attention from everyone else. Natsumi suddenly blew in Hiei's ear. "Answer me!" she demanded. Hiei only moved away. "Dammit woman, don't do that!"

That earned a large smirk from Natsumi. She began to chase Hiei around the room, trying to blow in his ear. "Answer me dammit!" Meanwhile, Botan, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke were watching them in awe.

Kurama chuckled slightly. "They are so weird together…" Kuwabara laughed with him. "Well you know what they say…"

"Two peas in a pod?" Yusuke answered.

"Birds of a feather?" Botan added in.

"I was going to say freaks flock together." Kuwabara finished. They turned back to Natsumi and Hiei who were completely oblivious to their conversation.

Yep.

They were definitely a bunch of freaks.

…How cute.

Although it would have been much more fun to watch them continue to fight, everyone had things to do. Kurama timidly waved at the two. "Um, well we're all done here now…so…" Natsumi and Hiei stopped in midair, just now realizing that everyone was watching. "Uh okay, I guess we'll go…then." Natsumi stated, and dashed for the door.

"Bye Miss uh…Kurama's mom!" As soon as Natsumi and Hiei had left, Yusuke burst into laughter. "What do you suppose that was all about?" Botan asked. Kurama shrugged. They could only guess.

-

It was still snowing gracefully and the cold was tickling Natsumi's nose. She still wasn't satisfied with the answer she got from Hiei, which was, "Hn," But she really, _really _wanted to know. They began to walk up the hill at the end of Kurama's street, which would descend shortly. Natsumi gazed over at Hiei, who was being unusually quite. She knew he was quite to begin with but this was creepy quiet. Very awkward. She decided to break the awkward silence.

Just as they reached the top of the hill, she grabbed two lids off of the trash cans of the nearby house. "Oh man, I remember in my old neighbor hood, we used to go sledding with these all the time."

Hiei raised one eyebrow in suspicion. "Sledding?"

"You have heard of sledding right?"

"Hn, of course I have. I just never saw what the point of falling down a hill. I mean, why would you _want_ to fall down a hill?" Natsumi slapped her hand to her forehead. She couldn't believe this. What kind of child hood had this boy had? "Hiei, sledding is not just falling down a hill, it's a lot of fun!"

The fire demon shook his head. "How?" In a bold move, Natsumi tucked the 'sleds' under her arm, reached out and grabbed Hiei's hand. Hiei's hand. The very hand that belonged to Hiei. You get my point now right?

She waited for a few seconds to see if Hiei would pull away but he didn't. She only saw a light shade of pink fly across his face. But it could have been the snow. And as she dragged him into a grassy area, she thought he had squeezed her hand.

But that could have been her.

"Okay, all you have to do is sit in the lid and slide down. Try it with me!" Hiei glared at the sled like it was his prey. "Hn, and this is what you humans find fun?" She nodded. _An odd past time. _Hiei decided. But none the less, he sat in the trashcan lid. Now they were side by side and ready to sled.

"You ready?"

"Hn,"

"Okay, go!" Natsumi got push start off the snow but noticed that Hiei wasn't moving. She stuck her glove into the snow to stop herself. "Hiei…are you going to go or not?"

The fire demon crossed his arms. "I feel stupid." She sighed heavily and got off her sled. "Okay, I'll…ride with you." There was a moment of silence before Natsumi awkwardly climbed onto the sled.

Actually, she very awkwardly climbed onto the sled behind Hiei and very awkwardly wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I'm going to push off on the count of three okay?" Hiei turned and nodded, never taking his eyes off her emerald orbs. "One…"

Hm…this was nice.

"Two…"

Was it? Did he find this…comforting?

"Three!"

Before Hiei had a chance to ask himself that question, they took off down the hill. It was…invigorating. The snow was piercing his face like ice, and everything was going by so fast. There was a rush of adrenaline and a flip of the stomach as they nicked a rock and made air. "See isn't this fun?" Natsumi yelled over the wind, resting her chin on Hiei's shoulder. He nodded slightly.

Suddenly Natsumi was shaking Hiei's shoulders violently. "Hiei turn, there's a tree! Turn dammit!" In a mad dash, Hiei twisted the sled to the side and they flipped over, one on top of the other.

"Fuck…Hiei you're squishing me…" She shot her wild eyes up at him, still in a daze from sledding and her cheeks pink with cold. She stopped short of his nose and stared into his crimson eyes.

For a moment, you couldn't even hear them breathing. "The answer to your question…" Hiei started, catching his breath. "The answer to your question is yes." Natsumi took a moment to think of what her question was. By that time, Hiei had picked himself off of her and was dusting the snow off himself. "We should get going now." He said, as if nothing had happened.

This was one of the things about Hiei that really bugged Natsumi. She couldn't tell what was going on inside his head. She stood and nodded in a slight cloud of confusion. _That wasn't a yes or no question…so…what was his answer? How did that make sense? _

"_So Hiei…what would you do if your Jagan did win and like…you know…we had to mate and what not?"_

She repeated her question over and over. Yea, she was sure that it wasn't a yes or no question. So what the hell did that mean?

"Are you coming? You're too slow." Hiei complained, and she ran to catch up.

So…what the hell!

-

The entire walk home was completed in silence. Not that Natsumi and Hiei were made at each other, oh no, they were just…embarrassed.

Yes, that is correct. Hiei was embarrassed.

Anyhoo, as soon as they entered the apartment, Natsumi picked up a manga with the title of "Bleach" and began to read while Hiei hopped up onto her kitchen counter.

…Natsumi stole a glance at Hiei, who was staring off into space. She quickly looked back down to her reading and just as she did, Hiei darted his eyes to the side, just enough to gaze at Natsumi, who looked like she was busy reading. Obviously, she wasn't really. Of course neither of them knew the other was looking at them, because, that's just the way it goes.

After about fifteen minutes of complete silence with tension so thick Hiei could cut it, Natsumi put her book down. "O-okay, so…Hiei…" the boy looked up at her. "What?"

"Hiei…what's your last name?" It seemed as though that was completely out of the blue to Hiei who took a moment before he answered. "Why…are you asking me this?"

She cleared her throat slightly. "Well…we live together and I know! I know it's not like _that _but…Hiei I only know your first name…and…that just won't do. I really want to _know _you Hiei."

He had a thousand, no two thousand sarcastic comments at that one moment. But for some reason he couldn't bring himself to say them. Instead he said, "Jaganshi."

Natsumi repeated the name like it was a poem. "That's nice."

"Hn, it's just a last name…what's yours?"

"Tanaka."

"That's the dumbest last name ever."

Natsumi removed herself from the bed and walked all the way over to Hiei just to jab him in the ribs and he poked her back. "Heh, like your one to talk…Jaganshi!"

"Hn,"

"Hn…"

The remained in silence once again for a grand total of one minute before Natsumi asked. "So, how come Yukina doesn't know you're like…twins?" Hiei's eyes darkened slightly. "There's really no point in telling the story. But…would you want a brother who was a criminal and a murderer?" Natsumi didn't even think about.

"If I knew I had a brother, but didn't know who he was, I really wouldn't care. Who wouldn't want you for a brother? You could totally kick anyone's ass!" Hiei raised his eyebrow. "Well that's just because you're weird."

"And I'm damn proud of it!" She smiled wide like she really _was _proud. Hiei changed the subject to her. "Well, your human parents, what were they like?"

Natsumi traced the counter with her fingers in a slight daze. "My mom," she remembered. "Was so pretty…and always smiling. She never got mad at me. She knew how to talk things out and every winter we would steal the lids of people's trash cans and go sledding. Then…" Natsumi stopped tracing the counter and balled her fist lightly. "She died."

Her voice at that moment was sad and suddenly Hiei heard her cough like she was holding back tears. Of course Hiei didn't take this into consideration. "What about your father?"

"Not important." She said quickly. Hiei took this bit of information as a clue that she didn't like her father. He recalled her telling him that they had died, but he suddenly thought that it would make her cry to ask again.

Or she would get really pissed.

And he didn't want either of those.

For the thousandth time that day, neither of them spoke. Finally Natsumi said. "So I guess we're getting to know each other a little better."

"Hn, not that it matters."

There was a twitch of Natsumi's eye. "Of course Hiei."

"So," he started. "What's my present?"

"JAGANSHI!"

-End

-Of

-Chapter

-Eleven

Eh, perhaps there was some OOCness in that chapter. I apologize! Mmm…Chinese food is good! Chicken Lo Mien rocks! Reviews please!

Preview:

Finally! The Christmas party arrives! FLUFF! And missile toe!

Hiei never shares food. Until now.

Tension that lays dormant for too long eventually wakes up. (If you aren't getting that, it has to do with LO-OVE!)


	12. Some Girls Wander by Mistake

**Mindless Blah, Blah #5: Well! IMPORTANT! This is my first _real serious _attempt at a lemony limey squishy thingy. So…go easy on me okay? **

**SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! I WAS AT A FUNERAL! YES! MY GREAT GRANDMA DIED. I DIDN'T KNOW HER BUT I HAD TO GO…SO ANYWAY…I'M HERE NOW! **

**Jessica: **So much stuff to find out! There is so much to read too!

**AnimeFreaks13: **Damn alternate personalities and their sneaky ways. Tsk, tsk…I used to have one but…she's gone now. (Hears muffled screaming; runs to the closet and kicks something) Ehehehe…

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **HAPPY BIRTHDAY! How old are you anyway? Yes! Damn human nature to hell! Ahem…

**Hiei's Dark Abyss: **I know…they are so close to kissing. I'm sure your story is just as good as mine, I mean, I loved it!

**Suntiger: **Valentine's Day is a crap holiday isn't it? (Sigh) But I suppose I will have to do it for the readers. Bum, bum, bum!

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **Gasps! Dude! I don't have anyone to share missile toe with either! So sad…but at least now I am not alone! Don't worry, you'll find someone soon, cause well…I just did! (Blushes) Oh yes…anyway, on with the fic!

**Property of Hiei: **I'm sure Hiei is proud of his height…and he can convince the owner…somehow!

**Kihin no Miko: **Cornucopias amounts of fluff my friend.

**Sara-chan10: **Oh…is that going to develop into a story? Huh? Yea she does think she'll be mean! But she isn't!

**Priestess Rin: **Is that so? Huh, well I had no idea! I'm so glad!

**Sausage: **Actually, I really don't like Florida. Very boring…but that's not the point. Science projects! Grr…I remember I had to do one of those in sixth grade. I hated that so much. That's why I love high school!

**Smirking Arrogance: **Oh really? Thanks! Mmm…pudding! I love it so much! (Eats three) Yum!

**Freak in Cage: **Well…I don't know that I am a _good _writer, I just…write. But thank you so much! I think you should totally go for it in writing your own Hiei fic! Trust me everyone has that problem when writing. And I am sure whatever you write will come out great! I wrote the last chapter over three times before I was satisfied, and sometimes that's just what it takes. Just make sure it feels right to you. Good luck! Wait…do you have a penname? Oh, by the way, if you want me to pre read any of your work for grammar mistakes or anything, I will be happy to okay?

**DarkGoddess29: **Dude! I would so do that to my brother but he's eighteen so he would kick my butt most likely.

**Hieiluver121: **It pisses me off when people make him a sissy! I mean he's not a pushover for girls, but we know he likes them. Duh! Dude yes, we do have to talk! I really want to! Make your dad not lazy!

**SummoneroftheSilverWolf: **Yes I am! I've just been so busy lately!

**Fierian ra: **Gracias! I know right? Nirvana kicks (Kicked, whatever) major ass!

**Shadow-Seeker13: **Dude, that sucks. Is it your parents? (Picks up chainsaw) I can take care of em you know! (Hopes parents aren't reading this) Just kidding you know! Haha…ha.

**HieiFan666: **But…there is always a chance for sledding again and for Hiei to hit that tree! Muahaha! Yes he can be nice and yes, kissing is so cool! Oh yes fool, oh yes!

**-**

_-_

_-_

**Chapter 12-Some Girls Wander by Mistake**

**-**

**-**

**-**

The exact date was December 24th. In the passing days before, Natsumi (and Hiei's) apartment was so thick with feelings they had to open the windows. But being the proud people that they were, Natsumi and Hiei chose to ignore this fact and pretend like life was fine. Instead Natsumi tried to think of other things like meeting Hiei's sister and Yusuke's girlfriend.

The party started at seven and it was still only noon.

Damn the day was slow. She also had Hiei's present still waiting in that shop and she had serious doubts of that woman would believe that Hiei was eighteen once she saw him. Double damn.

But since Natsumi had taken Hiei sledding, things in the apartment were a bit on edge. For example, they had not once made eye contact over the past few days. When they sat down to eat (it was always instant food) Hiei would move to the window sill or claim he 'wasn't hungry'. This started to piss Natsumi off because now it was impossible to make conversation. She felt like at any moment they would burst into spontaneous combustion.

So basically, they had made no progress since the day they went sledding.

_Ring_

_Ring_

"Hello?"

"Hello Natsumi, it's Botan! Just making sure that you're still coming!"

"Yes Botan."

"Hiei too?"

"Hiei too."

"Well the party does start at seven but you could come over earlier if you wished."

"Really? Great! Then I'll come now!" Natsumi said a little too quickly. Botan made an odd face at the other end of the phone. "Oh okay well…sure! Bring your outfit! I can help you do your hair!"

"Whatever! I'll be there soon!" Botan heard the click at the other end and set the phone down. _Well that was weird. I wonder what in the world is going on over there…_

If one doesn't know this already, one should right now. Natsumi's apartment is small. And I mean _small_. So how was it that she was unable to find Hiei? _Maybe he went out…does he even go out? _She shrugged and decided it would be best to write him a note.

_Hiei_

_I went to Kurama's so Botan could do my…uh…hair apparently. I'll probably be over there until the party so come over anytime okay? Where are you anyway? _

_Natsumi _

She pulled on her coat and started the trek to Kurama's. Her visit there wasn't just about hair; she had some questions she wanted to ask Botan. She wasn't sure who else to ask about it. Natsumi figured Botan was the right person to ask, though she wasn't sure how good grim reapers were at advice.

On love of all things.

"Come on in!" Botan cooed, practically ripping off Natsumi's coat and throwing her onto the couch. "So, what do you want to do with your hair?" Natsumi laughed nervously. The blue haired girl pulled her outfit out of her hand to look at it. It wasn't anything too special, just a pair of black velvet pants with a red top. Natsumi shrugged and decided to admit her problem. "Botan I need your help. Or, advice rather."

Botan smiled. "Great! Well Kurama and his mom are out buying some food for tonight, so we have quite a while to talk. Sit, I'll make tea." As soon as Botan set the cup on the table Natsumi spilt her guts. She talked about EVERYTHING. When Takashi came over, and when they went sledding.

"So what do you think of all this? Is…I mean…what…uh…what should I do!" Botan clasped her fingers together in thought before smiling wider. "Well sweetie I think Hiei likes you."

"But how do I know it's just now his Ja-…"

"Hush! Please, if that was it you would know. Trust me, he LIKES you." Botan's voice sounded so reassuring and Natsumi wanted to believe her. She just wasn't quite sure what to think at this point. Botan saw the hint of doubt on her face and rubbed her shoulder thoughtfully. "Why don't you stay here until the party starts to give you and Hiei some time apart to think?" Natsumi nodded and slipped her tea like a child. "Mkay…"

Hiei pushed open the window of Natsumi's apartment. He still wasn't used to using a door so Natsumi left the window unlocked for him. As he entered the apartment, he shoved a small box into his cloak pocket but much to his surprise Natsumi wasn't anywhere to be seen. Instead Hiei saw a note taped to the window. That's right; there was that Christmas party to go to. Now that he thought of it, he wasn't sure why he was going at all. Actually he knew quite well why he was going. One word:

Natsumi.

As out of character as that sounded to Hiei, it was the truth. Damn, he didn't like that too much. Taking his mind of that he gazed to the clock. It was almost five. Just two hours until the party. And somehow he knew something was going to happen.

Botan knocked on the bathroom and door and Natsumi sheepishly opened it. "How do I look?" Botan nodded and gave her the thumbs up. They had all changed and everyone was arriving. Kurama was downstairs with Yusuke and Kuwabara and the two girls walked down just as Keiko, Yukina, and Shizuru were walking up to his door.

"Move it Kazuma!" Shizuru demanded, and shoved her way to Natsumi. Shizuru was a tough looking girl but she seemed like she was easy to get along with. "I'm Shizuru; Kazuma's much cooler older sister. I head a lot about you, Natsumi was it?" The girl nodded and peeked around Shizuru at the one Yusuke called Keiko.

Turning her brown eyes to Natsumi, Keiko took a good look at the girl everyone had been talking about. Keiko could tell that she was built but she hadn't used her muscles in quite a while. Her cheekbones were high and when she smiled her eyes lit up. She was lanky as most teenagers are and skinny as well. Still, she looked liked someone you wouldn't want to mess with. Keiko instinctively stuck out her hand to shake Natsumi's. "Hi I'm Keiko…"

Yusuke slid his arm around the girl and winked. "My girlfriend." He said slyly before squeezing Keiko's breast. There was a sudden slap as Keiko turned her hand on Yusuke. "Jerk!" she screamed. "Um, excuse me, but is Hiei here yet?"

Natsumi glanced around Yusuke and Keiko to the aqua haired girl behind them. Her eyes were just big red orbs. "Are you Yukina?" the girl nodded. Natsumi turned to Kurama and mouthed, 'what the fuck?' before turning back to Yukina. "Hi, I'm Natsumi and no, Hiei isn't here yet…but he should be."

"Oh so you're Natsumi correct?" Yukina asked, widening her eyes. Natsumi nodded. "Yea hey, you…aren't exactly what I expected. Yukina blinked. "What?"

"Never mind." Behind Yukina an even smaller woman emerged however she was much older. "Yo! What's up old lady?" Everyone sweatdropped. But Genkai held out her hand anyway. "So where's Hiei?" Natsumi was about to shrug when suddenly they heard, "Here."

Everyone turned to Kurama's kitchen window as their favorite fire demon walked in. Suddenly Natsumi felt weak in the knees. _Damn, I hate this. _

Hiei looked at Yukina and softened his eyes before looking at Natsumi and fidgeting with the box in his pocket. "Alright!" Botan cheered. "Let's get this party started! Merry Christmas everyone!"

Snacks were laid out around the den and there were Christmas carol's on the CD player. Yes things seemed to going good so far. Natsumi was still in shock that Hiei's sister was the sweetest thing on this side of the world however. And Hiei was in another 'Kill-Kuwabara-Or-Anything-That-Resembles-Him' mood.

"See Yukina? It's a bird in a snow globe!" Kuwabara boasted over the present he bought her. Hiei's eye twitched noticeably. Yusuke laughed slightly and Hiei turned to him. "Why. Is that funny?" he demanded. Yusuke shook his head. "Not funny!" he defended quickly. Keiko gawked at Botan, who was following Kurama around like a newborn.

"Missile toe!" Botan exclaimed, pinning it up on the doorway. She stared directly at Natsumi who rolled her eyes to Hiei who was quite familiar with what that was. "This reminds me, you can have your present tomorrow." She said.

"How the hell does that remind you of my present?"

"I don't know, go along with me okay?" Keiko laughed. "You're funny."

"Don't encourage her." Hiei threatened.

Botan walked over to Natsumi. "Will you get the cheese puffs from the kitchen please? Hiei go help her." Now Natsumi wasn't stupid, and she knew that the doorway with the missile toe was the doorway to the kitchen.

"What are you planning?" she asked suspiciously. "P-planning! I am…just…appalled! I…oh forget it. Just get the food please." Natsumi agreed and moved swiftly to the kitchen. It was quite funny actually. Hiei refused to go anywhere near the missile toe. Kurama got up and followed Natsumi into the kitchen.

"What are you two doing?" he asked. Natsumi swallowed the cheese ball whole. "I'm not eating them I swear!" Kurama sighed. "Not that, I mean what are you and Hiei _doing_?"

Natsumi stuffed another cheese puff into her mouth nervously. "What do you mean?"

"You two seem weird."

"Eh…? Well…weird? No we aren't weird. I mean we are _weird. _But we aren't being weird right now I mean…" Kurama held up his hand for her to stop rambling. "Did something happen to you two after you left my house?"

"Kurama, can we not engage in normal conversation?"

"Like what?"

"…I saw a bird die today…"

"I'll take in the cheese puffs." Kurama ended the conversation and moved back into the den leaving Natsumi in the kitchen with nothing to do. She lifted herself onto the countertop and took a moment to collect her thoughts. "What the hell is wrong with me?" she murmured to no one in particular. "Hey look at the lights across the street!" Keiko pointed out, drawing everyone's attention to the window. As this was going on, Hiei managed to slip into the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Hiei asked leisurely. She shrugged. "Just thinking…the holiday's suck you know?"

"Hn, yea." They stayed silent for a few more minutes before Natsumi finally suggested going back into the den. They began to walk out together when suddenly they both stopped and looked up.

Damn.

Their guard had slipped. They were standing under the missile toe.

They obviously didn't have to kiss. They could have avoided it and pretended like they hadn't walked under it together. No one was looking.

But as Natsumi looked into Hiei there was sudden confusion, mayhem, misunderstandings between each as one looked upon the other. There was a sudden fever of emotion that had lain dormant for far too long. There was a rush of adrenaline. But not like when they had gone sledding. No this was different. This was more intense. Their lips crashed together with no resistance into a kiss.

It only lasted for a moment though.

They pulled off and took a moment to think.

"I you me what?" Was all Natsumi managed to say. Hiei shrugged. "I don't know." It still felt like a dream, this had to have been a dream. "We'll just pretend that didn't happen." Hiei finished. Natsumi nodded. "Y-yea…" She began to stumble off towards the snack bowl with weak knees. It was strange that the kiss had stirred such emotion. That just one kiss with no open mouths or tongue; just lips running into the other, could have made her legs feel involuntary.

She whispered an almost inaudible, "Wow…" that no one picked up on. Just as she did this Botan turned away from the window and towards her. "So what's new?" Natsumi answered sarcastically: "Oh, nothing." She was unusually calm about this but Hiei on the other hand was almost hysterical. In fact he didn't seem to want to keep it in.

Damn.

_Damn! _

Kurama approached his nervous friend in concern. "Are you okay?" Hiei pulled out his katana and shoved it against Kurama's throat. "I'm fine!" he growled between clenched teeth. Natsumi slapped her hand to her forehead. _Baka…_

She approached Hiei and grabbed his arm. "Can I talk to you…now?" Natsumi pulled Hiei away from Kurama and into her old bedroom. She paced slightly before throwing her hands above her head. "You suck at keeping secrets! Just because we kissed doesn't mean you have to go on a killing spree! You are making sense you know?"

Hiei nodded. "I know, but what really doesn't make sense is why you kissed me." You could hear a record rip in the background. "WHAT!" she screamed and then brought her voice back down to regular. "Okay, no, we both kissed. But if anything you moved in first!" she added quickly. Hiei shook his head. "No, no…you kissed me."

"Did not!"

"Hn, don't deny it woman."

"Deny what! You…we…we…you…I really liked it you know." She finished sweetly, unable to see anyway to win this argument.

"Huh?" Hiei's face was twisted at the moment so it was hard for Natsumi not to laugh. "Do I have to spell it out? The kiss, idiot. Gawd!" Hiei spit. "Hn…"

They stayed quiet for a moment. "So…" Natsumi started. "Do you want to like…" Before she could finish Hiei grabbed her wrist and shoved her into the wall lightly. "Silence." He demanded. She only grinned. Before Hiei could continue someone began to open the door. Hiei blurred to other side of the room as Kurama came in.

"Are you two okay?" they nodded. "Yeah! Fine!" Natsumi answered for them. "Are you going to join us now then?" Kurama was still trying to figure out why Natsumi was unusually close to the wall. She reluctantly followed the fox back to the den as Hiei came trailing behind, but Natsumi could feel his smirk on her.

As they re-entered the den, Botan offered some eggnog to the two. "I added some rum in it for kicks!" Natsumi gratefully took the cup and gulped it down. This was quite the eventful Christmas. "Oh and by the way Hiei, there is sweet snow in the freezer for you." For a moment now Hiei was gone and Kurama took this chance to question Natsumi.

"Did something happen between you and Hiei?"

"Yes, we had sex." Came the joking reply. Kurama didn't take it too lightly. "I'm being serious, are you two okay? You didn't fight?" She shook her head. "No way fox boy, we're fine, just relax it's a party!" She shook Kurama's shoulders lightly so he wouldn't tense up. A moment later Hiei came back in with a carton of ice cream.

"Are you going to eat that whole thing?" she questioned. Hiei shoved a spoon in his mouth and nodded. "Of course fool." Natsumi smiled at him and Kurama noticed that somewhere between when the party had begun and now, something had changed between them. Hiei took a seat on the couch and Natsumi perched next to him. "Aw come on baby brother, tell us about the time you ran outside with my bra on." Shizuru teased suddenly.

Everyone gathered around the couch now for the further embarrassment of Kuwabara. "Shut up Shizuru!" The girl narrowed her eyes. "What's that Kazuma? Why don't I just tell the story?" Hiei snickered slightly at the boy's humiliation. Yukina decided to chip into this. "Once Kazuma poked me."

There was complete silence before Botan urged her to continue. "With his finger?" she asked. Yukina shook her small head. As soon as this registered in Hiei's mind, the only things keeping him from slitting Kuwabara's throat was the ice cream and Natsumi's grip on his arm. "Just laugh it off." She gritted between clenched teeth. Hiei hn'd loudly.

Natsumi decided to insult Kuwabara to keep Hiei in line. "You suck at life!" she shouted, shaking her finger. This made everyone laugh.

The sharing of embarrassing stories continued just as Natsumi grabbed Hiei's spoon from his hand and dipped it into his sweet snow. "Man I love ice cream." She said, licking her lips. Kurama looked at Hiei who didn't at all look pissed. He didn't seem to mind at all. Had it been anyone else rather, they would have been dead. "Oh I know," Keiko suggested. "Let's sing Christmas Carols."

The idea appealed to everyone except Hiei and Natsumi. Hiei swiftly began a retreat to the window were he climbed outside to wait. Natsumi followed.

"Oh jingle bells…" Natsumi shut the window to slightly drown out the off tune singing and made her way to Hiei who was resting against the tree. She was about to speak but suddenly found herself at a loss for words. Instead she looked up into the tree and saw a worn black bear. "Oh my kami…hey look remember that bear!" Hiei glanced up.

"Hn, how could I forget that stupid thing?"

"Hiei you really know how to charm em." She joked. Hiei only growled in reply. She noticed he was fidgeting nervously with his pocket. "You okay?"

"Fine."

"Well you're shaking your pocket around."

Hiei stared down and noticed that was exactly what he was doing. He sighed. "What's in your pocket?" she sing songed.

"Something."

"For me?"

"Maybe."

"Well, can I see it?"

Reluctantly, Hiei pulled a velvet box out of his cloak pocket with a yellow ribbon around it. "Hn, here. Merry…Christmas or whatever; it doesn't matter." Natsumi's face flushed as she accepted the box gratefully and tore it open with no grace what so ever.

Damn.

Inside the box was a dragon pendant. The dragon was emerald and it misted into a cloud with a beige back round. She placed the chain around her neck and fiddled with it. "Hiei this…so damn cool! I can't believe you got me this! Did…did you steal it?"

"No!" cam the quick reply. She immediately closed the gap between them and embraced him tightly. "This is so kick ass." She pulled off and wondered now what was going to happen. They hadn't actually decided that they were…together or anything. So the moment felt slightly awkward.

She took a chance anyway and pecked him on the lips. It was nice and soft. "Thank…" she began but felt her chin being tugged by Hiei as he pulled her face into his so their noses were bumping. The picture dancing in his eyes could have killed. "Finish it." He demanded. Before giving her time to react, Hiei pushed his lips into hers. This time it was quite different from before.

Her face flushed immediately as Hiei bit her lower lip gently and she deepened the kiss by wrapping her arms around his neck and playing with his hair. It gave her a warm sensation all over.

It was nice.

Hiei broke it off before he gave himself the chance to slip his tongue in her mouth. "They're not going to sing forever, get inside." He stated leaving her lungs gasping for air. He pushed her into the room where everyone was finishing up the last of their songs.

"Natsumi what's up with that thing around your neck? It's so cool!" Botan asked, clasping her hands together. Natsumi glanced outside and smirked. "Hiei gave it to me." Everyone immediately surrounded her.

"How much did this cost?"

"Did he steal?"

"Are you guys dating now?"

Their questions droned on but she was still in a romantic sort of daze.

Damn.

Hiei was a good kisser. How long did the kiss last? Only about thirty seconds but damn. _DAMN! _The thought of kissing Hiei gave her goose bumps and she shivered with anticipation.

For the rest of the night, Hiei was perched to Kurama's window sill. He and Natsumi only shot glances at each other once and a while. She was slightly excited about the rest of her life now. Hiei saw no difference really. To him he now just owned her. She was now his property. He wasn't too sure how she would feel about that but…he was sure it would all work out.

The party was now drawing to an end and had dragged on well past midnight.

The commotion about Natsumi's pendant had begun to die down as well.

People began to descend one by one so Natsumi and Hiei decided to skip out.

Everyone said goodbye as the two slipped out the door. Despite all that had happened, the walk home was still filled with tension. Natsumi glanced at Hiei and he smirked slyly at her.

Yes, the next week of so would prove interesting.

I

Burnt

My

Bagel (I burn everything though. I fail at cooking.)

**Eh…I didn't like the ending to this chapter. But at least I finished it! Hooray! So did you like it? **

**Sorry for the long wait! Again. Um…happy (Late) Valentine's Day! Rock on! **

**Special thank you to Anime Freaks13 (Lana included) for the present idea. Way to be! **

Preview (Of doom):

Oh look, Hiei's present! Does he like it?

Hiei comes in with numerous slashes on his back. Why? It will shock you! DUN, DUN!

Natsumi and Hiei go on a 'pre-mating ritual' or in English, a date.

**SURVEY ALERT: **Should I or should I not make little bonus stories at the end of some of my chapters? You like little scenarios that make no sense for kicks? Huh? Do ya? Tell me!


	13. Koi

**Mindless Blah, Blah #6: So, I decided not to do any bonus stories, I'm well…too lazy! Also I just felt it would take away from the plot ling a little too much. Hehe…anyway, that's that I suppose. **

**Jessica: **Hehehe…yes so good!

**AnimeFreaks13: **No problem it was a good present idea. Nothing was wrong with the ending! I was just being hard on myself. No worries here.

**Freak in Cage: **Dude rock on and write it. How angsty…I love it!

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **Ah pink! The closest thing to Satan other than Canada! (Hopes you aren't Canadian) It was a joke anyway so I suppose it doesn't matter. Still, all that pink. Well Happy Birthday anyway.

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **Yea I did, a little late thought but oh well. So glad you liked it! See? They finally kissed!

**SummoneroftheSilverWolf: **Neatness! I'm so happy!

**Hieiloving101: **I suppose its human nature. But I couldn't be sure. So really, you didn't think Hiei was too OOC? I'm very happy, he is so damn hard to keep in character.

**Hiei's Dark Abyss: **Exactly! When words can not speak, actions can, as always.

**Maggie: **Cool! Thank you

**Suntiger: **Hyper off of water? Hm…that's different! Oh thank you, I try not to be boring in reviews.

**Kihin no Miko: **Ha I knew it…my Japanese is still rusty though…anyway…fluff is so much fun.

**HieiFan666: **Hiei will love the sword…duh. I think we saw that coming. Finally, I have you in suspense! You'll just have to read and find out! Only Hiei could come up with a name like that!

**Maddie O.: **Hehe…yea my friend's boyfriend poked her one time, twas quite funny.

**DarkGoddess29: **I know, I am…oh well. Just think of it this way, there is more to look forward too. Yep.

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **I'm not sure if your friends forgot your birthday or you just don't like them (Birthdays I mean), but I decided to wish you one anyway. I agree with you though, you know what they say: optimism is a disease. Actually…I say that, but it's not the point.

**MiserysSin: **Hehe, yea my mom finally got the hang of that after a while too.

**Hesushika: **So glad!

**Smirking Arrogance: **Oh yes the slashes, everyone is wondering about the slashes. Don't worry, you'll find out.

**Sausage: **Yay! I love bagels! How can you not love bagels…? How? Oh whatever, anyway, yay!

**Lunelle: **Ah thank you! Actually I decided not to add in bonus stories.

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **Yea they finally got together! Sort of…

**Sara-chan10: **Hehe…if only…but that would be too dramatastic for my taste! So I'll keep a little simpler. I think Hiei would appreciate that, I have put him through hell.

**Property of Hiei: **Haha…you are quite the funny one. Almost pissed my pants there for a moment…

**HieiLver121: **Wow, holy crap you can talk woman. No more sugar for you. Well anyway I am in ninth grade so it's my freshman year in high school. Huzzah!

**Priestess Rin: **I hope I get better at cooking, I suck at life! Ah well, there's always tomorrow. I'm going to get that bagel thing down dammit!

**Kawaii-San33: **Well as a matter of fact, Takashi does die eventually.

**Shadow-Seeker13: **Dude! I am so putting that in there! Thank you! Of course! (Grabs chainsaw) Let's get to it.

**xxXGoddessXofXdeathXloveXxx: **Oh the chapters wouldn't get shorter, but I decided not to do it because I think it may distract from the plot line a little bit. I hate it when people do that.

**>Only in dreams **

**We see what it means**

**Reach out your hand**

**Hold onto hers**

**But when we wake**

**It's all been erased**

**And so it seems**

**Only in d r e a m s **

_**Only in Dreams/Weezer**_

**-**

**Chapter 13- Koi **

The sun crept into apartment kissing Natsumi with light. The remainder of the night had gone relatively 'normal'. If that was in fact the word for it. They walked home together tired. And Natsumi crashed on her bed while Hiei moved to the window sill. Not that they were expecting to share the bed together.

Of course not.

But now it was morning and the magic of last night was resting silently in her bed. Hiei awoke with a start, possibly uncomfortable with the feeling of being comfortable. He rubbed his eyes roughly and stared down at the sleeping girl. Her lips were parted slightly as she took in air and the sun made her features glow softly.

Angelic.

"Up." Hiei demanded, poking the girl. She stirred and fluttered her eyes. "Mm…hm…go away…"

"It's almost one o'clock, get up." He lightly punched her shoulder.

Such a romantic demon.

"Ow…screw you."

"Get up."

The words were harsh, but the tone was caring. Finally, Natsumi crawled out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom. Suddenly the events of last night came flooding back to her. _Oh yea…neat. _There was a still a feeling of tension and awkwardness. Yes they had kissed. But they were still Natsumi and Hiei.

Unless now they were…they.

That made sense right?

She didn't know, and it was too early to even think for her. For now she supposed she would just wing it and see what happened. Natsumi fiddled with her pendant and smiled. Then it hit her again. Hiei's present was in that feudal store. She skipped into the kitchen.

"Hiei…" she sing songed. "Don't do that." Hiei answered bluntly.

"Come with me, we need to pick up your present!" Oh yes, Hiei had forgotten about that. "Pick it up?" he questioned. Natsumi laughed nervously. "Yea well the lady at the store doesn't think I'm eighteen…"

"You're not."

"Yes, well…that's why you're coming with me!"

Hiei was slightly hesitant at first. "And this present shall be waiting there?" he asked suspiciously. Natsumi nodded. "Agreed then."

-

The bell on the door jingled to let everyone know who had entered the store. "Yes we are open on Christmas day…" Hiroko said. She looked up and saw Natsumi with Hiei. "Hello, you must be here for the sword!" she called out. Hiei's eyes lit up. "Sword? You bought me a sword?"

"Uh-huh! Oh okay listen, we're dating okay? You're my boyfriend for now because she won't let me get the sword unless you're with me!"

"What? Why didn't you just lie about your age?"

She shrugged. "I didn't think of it at the time!" Hiroko came over to the two. She pointed to Hiei. "Is this your boyfriend?"

"Yes ma'am." She gazed hard at Hiei. "He doesn't look eighteen." Hiei moved slightly closer to Hiroko and grabbed her wrist. "But I am so you better get the damn sword." He hissed.

There was a moment of silence before Hiei let go of her wrist and she stood wobbly. "Uh…well…let me go get it." She ran over to the counter and reached behind for the sword. Natsumi glanced at Hiei and then raised one eyebrow. "That works too…"

Just a few seconds later Hiroko reappeared with the sword. "H-Here…just…just take it and leave the store." Hiei graciously accepted the sword and then Hiei and Natsumi promptly left.

He poked it, squeezed it, and even swung it to make sure it was real. It was. "How much did this cost?"

"You have your secrets and I have mine." She answered slyly.

"Hn, you're a fool." He retorted and began walking back to the apartment. Natsumi followed behind him kicking the snow with her boots. Hiei rolled his eyes. She was so very naïve and oblivious to a lot of things. She was probably weaker than any female youkai. So in reality his attraction to her made no sense whatsoever. Still, she was just not like any female youkai…she was…

…different.

They walked in silence to the apartment; Hiei was too busy testing his new sword. "You should really take up swordplay again." He said suddenly.

"No, I quit along time ago and there's no going back."

"Don't be a child, all you have to do is brush up on some skills it's not rocket science." He snapped back. Hiei was a cynical as ever it appeared. Natsumi didn't lightly brush it off. "You wouldn't understand what I am talking about." She said, sticking the key into the lock. Hiei raised an eyebrow upon re-entering the apartment. "What's not to understand about it? Seems to me like you're just being lazy."

Natsumi snapped her head around. "What! I am not _lazy_, I just don't want to because…you know…"

Hiei grasped her nose with his thumb and forefinger. "You're being too lazy about it. Now be quiet you're testing my patience."

"Yea but-…" before she had a chance to finish, Hiei pulled her down by the nose and kissed her. It was quick and a little sloppy. And it was most definitely rough. That was always as she had seen it.

He pulled away and examined the sword again. "Hn, this is a nice sword." Natsumi dropped her jaw. _Oh yes Hiei the nice sword, let's talk about the nice fucking sword…geez. _

She figured now was a good a time as any to ask. The question had been on the tip of her tongue all day. "H-Hiei…?"

The fire youkai looked up from his brand new katana. "What?" Natsumi took a deep breath and swallowed a lump in her throat. "What…what are we…now I mean. What are we now?"

Hiei blinked. The thought had crossed his mind a grand total of once. "We…are we…I suppose." Natsumi gradually moved towards the couch and took a seat on it. "So what is that…? Just…we?" Hiei shrugged. "Yes I suppose that's it. Which means you can't go off with other men. This means now you are mine. MINE." Natsumi gritted her teeth. _Possessive much? _

"Geez you act like I'm your property or something."

"You are."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. I can stay loyal you know though, so no worries there." She crossed her arms in pride. Then a new fact slowly came to realization. The whole reason why she was living with Hiei was because they were supposed to be mates. That probably meant that they had to…well mate. _OH no way…I'm too young for that. _She wasn't even sure if Hiei was thinking about that so she held her tongue. "Now we have to do that thing people do." Hiei finished.

Natsumi gulped before bursting into hysterics. "Sex! Are you crazy!" Hiei blinked and then blinked again once more for good measure. Yea he had heard that right. Slight warmth crept into his cheeks. "Baka! I meant that other thing people do before sex."

"…Mastur-…"

"A pre-mating ritual." Hiei cut her off before she could make a fool of herself. Natsumi regained composure and breathed a sign of relief. "Oh…what exactly is that?" Hiei tried very hard to remember the word. "That thing dammit, that you did, in that restaurant."

"Oh, a date?" Her eyes lit up slightly. "Yea we can do that. Where do you want to go?" Actually Hiei hadn't thought of that. He was really surprised that she had agreed to it. So Hiei darted his head to the side. "I dunno…we aren't going to that freak restaurant though." Natsumi could definitely agree to that. She never liked that place. "Well…the snow is still fresh. We could go sledding…" she trailed off, hoping it wasn't a dumb idea.

Hiei was silent for a moment. "Hn…that's fine. But I'm bringing the sword."

"Okay geez you friggin maniac."

"Shut up." Hiei sneered, before sliding his arm possessively around her waist.

It was bliss, pure and absolute bliss.

-

Hiei and Natsumi traveled to their first sledding experience with a sled in each hand. Natsumi had swiped a few trash can lids along the way. A new layer of snow had covered their tracks from the first time so the hill was fresh. "So can you do this on your own or do I have to help you?" Natsumi joked. Hiei glared at her. "I can manage."

They positioned the sleds at the top of the hill and prepared to take off. It had become a challenge as most things they did would. There was a silent count to three before the pushed off. Hiei was fast but Natsumi, being the lighter of the two, quickly passed him. All feelings set aside; Hiei was now pissed so he began to pick up his speed.

"Dammit Hiei, no powers! That's not fair!" she wailed, but Hiei kept ahead anyway.

A few moments later he heard Natsumi's voice again. It was very distant at first but then became louder. It sounded like…tree? The words suddenly began to make sense. The reason that Natsumi was shouting tree, was because Hiei was about to hit one.

He tried to swerve but nonetheless, he hit the tree.

There was a loud crashing sound and Natsumi halted her sled to a stop before jumping off and running over to Hiei. He could hear her laughing very hard. "That was not funny onna."

"You should have seen your face! Oh, that's a knee slapper."

"Hn," Natsumi now stopped laughing and brought a more concerned look to her face. She pulled a band aid out of her pocket and dropped it in front of him. "What's this…for me?" he questioned.

"It's for the tree." Came the sarcastic reply. This could have had some truth to it. The tree had been smashed into thousands of splinters and Hiei was unharmed, though the trash can lid was bent out of repair. Hiei grumbled something under his breath.

Natsumi frowned slightly. "Are you okay, koi?" she finally asked, it was what Hiei was waiting for, though he didn't need it. Hiei stood up and pulled severed pieces of wood out of his hair. "Of course I'm fine, I…did you just call me koi?"

She nodded. "What's wrong koi? You gotta problem with me calling you koi, koi?" Okay now she was just trying to tease him.

"Hn,"

It was working.

Natsumi brought her eyes to the beyond damaged sled. "So…we can't really sled anymore. You up for a crepe?" Hiei nodded, he didn't see anything else to do. When he stood up Natsumi grabbed his hand. "Come on koi let's go!" she grinned, apparently she had taken a liking to that word.

Hiei didn't mind.

-

"You are truly an idiot." Hiei sighed, shutting the door to the apartment.

"One day when you spill the filling of a crepe all over you you'll be an idiot too."

"You will still be a bigger one."

Natsumi stuck her tongue out playfully. The date had come to an abrupt halt when Natsumi squirted the filling of strawberry crepe all over herself. Being a girl, she just had to go home and change. "At least I didn't try and kill the vendor when he wouldn't let me have anymore."

"Hn, that was different. He was being stubborn he deserved to die."

She rolled her eyes and began to unbutton her shirt. This action struck quite a curiosity in Hiei. "Well anyway they were still pretty good. Ugh, look at this it's all over me." She said, carrying on normal conversation.

"Do you realize that you are undressing in front of me?" Hiei asked, wondering if the girl had lost her marbles somewhere between now and when they were sledding. But he was quite sure it was he who had hit the tree.

Natsumi pulled of the last button. "What's wrong koi am I arousing you?" she asked slyly. What was this some sort of test? Natsumi walked over to her dresser and pulled out a sweater. "You have seen me naked before you know. Remember?"

Hiei clicked his tongue and raised both his eyebrows. "How could I not?"

"And besides I'm _yours _so it's not like you would just pounce on me." She finished, pulling the sweater over her head.

Of course not.

Hiei wouldn't dream of doing something like that.

He certainly wasn't planning that.

Nope not at all.

Natsumi now yawned and made her way to the bed. "Okay, I'm going to take a nap for a while. See ya." She collapsed on the bed and pulled the covers over herself.

-

In about two hours Natsumi stirred from her slumber. The nap went on longer than she had planned, but she felt much more refreshed. She slowly opened her eyes only to notice a pair of crimson ones staring back at her own.

Hiei was leaning against the wall with his hands shoved in his pockets. Apparently he had been watching her sleep. She yawned and stretched out. "What are you doing?" she asked lazily.

"You don't snore, that's good." He said, completely ignoring the subject. She blinked. "Hooray?" Natsumi stood and went over to the sink for a drink of water. "So what have you been doing the last few hours?" she asked, keeping her back to him. "Testing out the katana."

She turned around from the sink. "Oh really on what? I hope it wasn't on…OH my god you're bleeding!" She frantically ran towards Hiei who just now noticed the blood searing out of his sleeves. He pulled off his cloak.

There were slashes all over his back and a few on his upper arms. "Holy shit! What happened?"

"Oh yea, that one attacked from behind."

"That one! Were you in a gang fight or something?" she shrieked. Obviously she was in hysterics and wasn't thinking clearly. Natsumi jumped up and began to hunt for her first aid kit which she knew she would need eventually. "Seriously Hiei what happened?"

The fire demon began to lick his arm. "Demons, about six, were outside."

"The hell! Are you serious? Why…no wait I know why…where are they?"

"They're dead now. I thought they might wake you up, so I killed them."

Natsumi dropped the first aid kit. "You killed a bunch of demons so I could sleep? Koi, you're the best!" She scooped up the kit and walked over to Hiei.

A few moments later she had Hiei sitting on the counter while she wiped his wounds clean with a cloth and prepared to bandage them. "Thank you Hiei." She said softly. He gazed over at her tranquilly.

"Hn, it's not a bother."

"Whatever you say…koi."

-

-

-

**So basically this chapter was about sorting feelings so there wasn't a whole bunch of kissing. But that will come in the next immediate chapter! **

**So i was writing this chapter and eating an apple when the knife slipped and i totally sliced my finger! There was blood all over the keyboard. It was quite funny actually. Oh yea, it hurt too...i guess. **

**Okay so is anyone else not receiving emails from this site? Because I'm not and it's quite distressing!**

Preview:

Hiei convinces Natsumi to take up swordplay again, and he will be her sensei.

Botan suspects something…she suspects right. What in the hell will she walk in on? Poor Botan…

After a long day of training, Natsumi just wants to crash and go to sleep…on Hiei.


	14. We Can Not Fuck in the Kitchen

**Mindless Blah, Blah #7: **For those who didn't know, koi is used for people you have great affections for. Get it? Cool!

**Hm…oh right! Thanks for over two hundred and twenty reviews! Oh yea! **

**Shadow-Seeker13: **Wow…the entire house. I don't think I could do that. Actually, my house is rather small these days so maybe I could. Oh no wait…I couldn't. Yep…not happening.

**Jessica: **Look above to see what Koi means okay?

**AnimeFreakls13: **Hehe…lol.

**xxXGoddessXofXDeadXLoveXxx: **The meaning of Koi is above!

**SweetKissOfChaos: **Whoa…a pink monkey? I don't know how I feel about that! Eeep.

**DarkGoddess29: **Yea! Lemons are so cool! More like a lime I think though. Yep lime…I don't think I'm ready for a lemon. Too sour for me. Not yet…but soon oh yes…soon.

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **Dude…harsh. Can't believe they forgot. Hn…hehe yea Hiei can't control everything for long now can he? Nope…definitely gonna lose control in this chapter. Oh yea.

**Aquaticmage: **Don't cry! I'll write!

**Felinoel: **She is so his property and she knows it.

**HieiFan666: **Priceless…I like that. It was clever. Oh they'll get work done…but…there will be lots of _that _and some of _this _going on if you know what I mean and I'm sure that you do.

**Hesushika: **Yea it's a good thing he stopped her.

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **I don't think that's it…maybe it's a bug…not sure. Oh well!

**Sausage: **Actually I thought it was really funny. But anywho…I can't believe Hiei ran away from you! What a bastard. Tsk…

**Hieiluver121: **The meaning for koi is right above! Koi is also the name of fish…but who cares. Wow, you are on quite a sugar high there. I can't tell you what school I go to because I just don't reveal that sort of stuff on the web. Sorry, it's not you; it's just all those predators out there. (Shifty eyes)

**Smirking Arrogance: **Oh thank you, I really think though, that there could be possible OOC in this chapter because of reasons but I'm trying. I just don't want Hiei to be a sissy because that bugs me. I hate when people do that.

**Suntiger: **I would of…I mean no.

**Slancaster113: **No I just decided not to do it. Sorry.

**SoulessAmaya: **Cool, I love your penname! I hope you get your story up soon.

**Hiei'slover-Hiei is mine-Arwen: **Holy crap! A saw? Eeep…

**DigiFox86: **Thank you!

**Hiei-kois onna: **Hehe…okay!

**Hieiloving101: **OH neat a dance? All my school has is homecoming and prom. Bleh. You're lucky. Yes he is getting better at it I think. Seems like he and his 'property' will be very happy.

**Priestess Rin: **I know! I seem to have bad luck with sharp objects and food. Man I hope nothing happens next.

**Fierian Ra: **Wow, all twelve? I applaud your reading skills. I'm glad I'm doing a good job and pleasing everyone. I have high hopes for this story.

**Animeluvr33: **Don't cry the next chapter is here!

**Crazy-Maniac-Person: **Zombie! You are so cool! You rock me! Go to sleep!

**Lilorchestragurl: **MUAHAHAHA!

**DigiFox86: **Yes, very nice consequences…tee-hee.

**EvilKritter: **OH yes, lots of lime and fluff.

**Chapter 14-We Can Not Fuck in the Kitchen **

**-**

It was cold, but not too cold. In fact, most of the snow that had fallen began to melt away. It was the twenty ninth of December now and new Year's was well on its way. However that was not on a certain blue haired ferry girl's mind. The only thing she was thinking of was these two certain people.

Natsumi and Hiei.

She had sensed it the night of the Christmas party and was certain it still lingered. That scent of new air. Something had changed between the two of them and she intended to find out what. Botan was just that kind of girl. For the past day or so she hung around Kurama's trying to convince him to invite the 'love birds' over so she could prove it to him.

"I swear it Kurama, something was different about them."

"Maybe they had a fight." Kurama suggested intent on denying that Hiei could be in any sort of relationship.

"NO! It wasn't a fight it was..." Botan trailed off.

"What?"

"Sexual…I mean it! I can tell about these things, I'm a girl!"

Kurama rolled his eyes. "What so they had sex then?"

"Argh! No! I mean they probably kissed Kurama."

The fox shook his head. "Doubtful."

Botan pursed her lips together to keep her temper down. "Kurama…you're an idiot. I'll prove it, you just watch."

**-**

_Two peanuts walk down the street and one gets assaulted. _

Hiei blinked. Then he took a brief moment to try and decipher the joke he had just read. The human newspaper was quite confusing to him. "I don't understand these pathetic ningen excuses for jokes." He complained; a tint of annoyance in his voice. Natsumi glanced at the paper.

"Baka, it's a simple joke. Two peanuts and one gets _a salted. _Get it?"

"No." he stated flatly. "Here then, read Garfield instead." She compromised. Hiei hn'd but took it.

It had been three days since they went on their first 'date' and Hiei killed those demons. And since then Natsumi had been rather…cuddly. Of course Hiei refused to call it that. He said they weren't cuddling but infact he was just laying claim to his 'property'.

Right now there position was as follows: Natsumi had one leg slung around Hiei's leg on the couch and her arm around his neck. Anyway, Hiei continued. "I don't see any point in reading this."

"You can't be my mate person if you know nothing about human life. What will my friends think?"

"You have friends?"

"No…but one day…" she squinted her eyes like it was a death threat. "That's good," Hiei replied suddenly. "They would take you away from me and then they would have to die."

"Hiei, for the last time, I am not your property."

"You are, that's the way it works." He demanded, snaking both his arms around the front of her waist. "Now shut up and hand me that page there."

"Christ on a bike, why don't you just buy me a leash."

"I may…" Natsumi couldn't tell if it was joke or not…scary. She waited for him to continue but he didn't. It scared her slightly more. The two had broken off contact with Botan, Kurama and basically everyone else for the past few days. They decided that they would tell them until…well…never. But they were fine with that. Natsumi knew that Botan especially would make a huge deal out of it and ask them how many times they had made out. Or if they were humping like bunnies yet.

They weren't.

About five minutes later Hiei set down the news paper and crossed his arms in deep thought. "Okay I read it. I did what you asked so now you have to do what I ask." Natsumi blinked. "You're going to take up sword play again."

"Hiei no-…"

"I will be your sensei."

Natsumi held her hands up in protest. "NO! I don't want to for the love of-…" Hiei cut her off with a kiss. She jumped as something wet brushed by her lips and soon realized it was his tongue begging for entrance. It was granted. They had gotten used to this; whenever they would argue it would eventually end up in a kiss. Hiei had really gotten better at it too.

Really. He got very good. Her heart was fluttering in her chest as though it was trying to get away.

She let a low throaty moan and quickly sucked it back in. Actually she felt a little embarrassed about it. However it didn't seem to faze Hiei at all. He pushed her back into the cushioning of the couch and deepened the kiss. It was almost impossible now to stop the low moans that Natsumi at times didn't even realize were coming. She couldn't say no to him like this…in this vulnerable position he had put her in. His hands wandered to her hips and were massaging them gently. He left her mouth and sucked on the nape of her neck.

Natsumi shifted. "Ngh…oh shit…" Hiei pulled off to see what was wrong. Maybe he had hurt her… "I…fine dammit! I'll train with you. You just…that was fucking awesome." She breathed.

"Hn, good. We start in one hour." She squirmed out from underneath him. "One hour? Are you serious?" she studied the look on his face. He obviously was. "Okay…where are we doing this?" Hiei pointed outside. "The roof of your building right here is fine. You can use my old sword." Natsumi nodded and decided it would be good to get changed. "I wont go easy on you." He said.

She laughed. "I didn't think you would."

-

The seasons changed rather quickly it seemed. The snow had all but receded and it only required a light coat to train. Natsumi suddenly felt very lucky that her apartment was right on the roof.

She stopped thinking when she felt a presence behind her. Natsumi whisked her head around and barely had time to pull out her katana when Hiei's came thrusting at her. Cold steel rushed together, making the swords sing. "Shit!" she shrieked.

Hiei grinned. "I told you I wouldn't go easy on you." She panted slightly and caught her breath. She brushed stray bangs away from her eyes and moved into a stance to fight. They circled each other for a moment, watching the others eyes intensively for any sign of attack. At that one moment, they blocked out any other sound and only focused on each other.

"Move forward and don't take your eyes off mine."

"I wont."

Five seconds later, they moved forward in synch and clashed swords. "Move to the left." He instructed coolly. Natsumi growled back, "I am!" They were both very serious when it came to fighting and it seemed that Hiei didn't have to teach her much, she just needed to brush up on a few skills.

If a camera had been watching them, it would have looked like a scene from a Bruce Lee movie. They were darting left and right and Hiei kept his speed low so she could keep up. They went on like this for hours without stopping for even a few minutes. But Hiei eventually stopped fighting. He stood coyly at the side of the rooftop.

"Aw come on Hiei…-pant-…I can do more."

"Hn, you're going to pass out if you don't stop." He said, sliding over to her. She toyed with his hair. "Your sweaty…" she said sweetly. "I'm sweaty too." For once it was her turn; she leaned down kissed him, entangling her fingers in his hair. There was a shiver of anticipation.

She wasn't in the lead for long, Hiei fought for dominance and won, pushing her onto the roofing. "Kya…!" Hands were moving everywhere. Hiei's shirt was already off and Natsumi was moving her hands over his well defined chest. Hiei was busy as well, he had her shirt half way up her midriff and there was too much lust for her to even bother pulling it back down.

_Ring _

Natsumi turned to the side. "Was that my phone?"

"Ignore it."

"No…wait…hey! TIME OUT!"

She scrambled out from under him and busted through her door to grab the receiver. "Hello?"

"Natsumi?"

"Yea…-pant-…what is it Botan?"

"Why are you out of breath?"

"Training…and stuff. –Pant-…What's up?"

"Just wondering if you and Hiei wanted to come over and visit me and Kurama."

"Yea I guess…now?"

"Uh-huh…"

"Okay, we'll be there soon. Bye."

Natsumi rushed back outside to Hiei, who was just putting on his cloak. "You don't get anymore time outs." He said dryly. She shrunk slightly. "Sorry…uh…that was Botan. We're going over there okay?"

"Why?"

"To visit them…so…let's go we can finish this when we get back okay?" Hiei groaned. "Are you using this as an excuse to get out of this?" she batted her eyes and placed her hand over her breast in defense. "Me? Why would I do a thing like that?" Of course, when she said it like that, no one could believe what she was trying to prove.

Natsumi was about to leave when it hit her. "Oh…so…are we telling everyone about…the…"

"No, I refuse to have them drool like puppies."

She nodded. "Fair enough, let's go."

-

Kurama's house hadn't changed much since the party only the Christmas decorations were out of sight. The fox smiled as they entered with Botan. "It's been a while."

"Yea…" Botan waltzed over next to Kurama and mouthed. 'Now you'll see what I mean.' She offered them a seat on the couch but Hiei took the window sill. There was a brief moment of silence before Botan spoke. "So what have you two been up to?" Natsumi glanced at Hiei nervously before answering. "Nothing important."

Botan nodded. "Really? Nothing…happened?"

"Nope."

Kurama twiddled his thumbs and Hiei shifted impatiently. Botan's plan was working wonderfully. The only real noise to be heard was the clock ticking in the hall. "…So how's my room?" Natsumi finally asked. "OH it's fine…" Kurama answered lamely.

The silence was just about unbearable. There was really nothing to talk about unless Botan came right out and asked them if they were together in any sense. "Why don't I go into the kitchen and make some tea?" Natsumi suggested finally. She got up and much to Botan and Kurama's surprise, Hiei followed her into the kitchen area.

Natsumi grabbed a pot and poured water into it before turning the stove dial up. "Do you think Botan's up to something?" she asked. Hiei nodded. "Most likely…damn ferry onna, putting her nose where it doesn't belong."

"Can't we just tell them?"

"No."

"Why not...?"

"I just don't want to…we'll wait." Natsumi shrugged and turned her attention back to the tea, sighing lightly. It would take another few minutes for the tea to boil, so she hopped up on the counter by the fridge. She kicked her legs out and hummed a little tune and then signaled Hiei over. "Okay, we can boil the tea and then make up an excuse to leave…that way we can keep training." She whispered.

Hiei nodded and placed his hand on her knee. "We need to finish other things too." He said, and it didn't sound like a question. Before she answered Hiei pulled her legs and they were straddled between him. That's when he leaned down and kissed her.

We all have to admit Hiei has good control, but one can only control one's hormones for so long. And once one loses control, one is very horny.

Isn't one?

She struggled, jerking hard in a cornered animal's desperation. This shouldn't be happening… she shouldn't let this happen, and yet Hiei wouldn't let her get away… Natsumi jerked her head, but subsided instinctively into a whimper as Hiei's teeth closed lightly on her lower lip. She had to stop this from going any further.

"Hiei stop! This is Kurama's kitchen! And we can under no circumstances do this…we can not fuck in the kitchen!"

"You used all your time outs, sorry."

She struggled more. "Aw come on…s-seriously Hiei……mmf…" She moved her hands to her shoulder and tried to push him away. _You could pick anytime for this but now Hiei. _

That's when Botan walked in.

There she was, bobbing around and suddenly she sees Hiei _straddling _a girl over the counter. She had just come in to see how the tea was…she wasn't expecting this. A nice confession would have worked. But not this.

"Uh…"

There was the right amount of time for shock and then for Natsumi's face to turn beet red. She catapulted Hiei off. "This isn't what it looks like! I mean…it is! But…shit." Botan pointed her finger. "I knew it! Oh…I just knew it! You two…so cute but that was…interesting." She raised her eyebrow in discomfort before pointing to the kettle, which was steaming.

"Oh…" Natsumi pulled it off. "Eheh…tea's ready." She said sheepishly. They all moved awkwardly into the den again where Kurama was waiting quietly. Natsumi faked a smile. "Well this has been real nice but we should get going to train…and…stuff."

Kurama stared. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but they all seemed a little…strange. "O-okay…it was nice seeing you-…" Before he could finish Natsumi had dragged Hiei out the door and half way down the street.

Botan sighed loudly and collapsed on the couch. "So are you happy now?" Kurama asked.

"Yea…I'm happy."

-

Natsumi rushed up to the roof and ran to her apartment. "You need to learn some self control mister…did you see the look on her face?" Natsumi's face was still slightly red as well. Hiei shrugged. "Hn, sorry but it's not my fault you don't finish things."

"Psh…whatever."

She pushed open the door and picked up her katana. "Okay, so are we going to pick up or not?" Natsumi certainly did not want to repeat what had happened at Kurama's house so she decided it would be best to distract him. Hiei agreed to continue their training. "Okay _sensei, _let's fight." They journeyed back out side to the roof. The ritual repeated and the circled each other before attacking.

_Clash. _They both fought like it was a life or death situation but neither had any intention of hurting the other.

_Slash. _Hiei always brought the blade close to her stomach and pulled away at the last second to get a thrill out of her. Natsumi threw in a few girl tactics like kicking and what not, just to make him mad. It repeated for hours.

_Clash, slash, kick, bite, _kiss, _punch. _

They fought in complete silence. The sun had long set and the moon risen before Natsumi showed the least bit of being weary. "Do you want to stop?" Hiei asked. She shook her head. "I can go a bit longer."

He nearly swiped her shoulder. "You can't go for much longer." _I don't want you to wear yourself out. _

"I can do it." _I don't want to stop now. _

It had gotten a little colder now and cold air could be seen coming out of Natsumi and Hiei's mouths as they struggled for breath. Crimson eyes flickered to emerald ones. They were satisfied that they had fought long enough for now.

They mentally saw that they were ready to quit and Natsumi barely held herself up in time to get inside. She dropped the katana and trudged to the sink for a glass of water. Hiei moved by her bed and stood at the foot of the mattress. Natsumi drank it heavily and then staggered over to the bed. "Hn…I'm tired I think it's time…we…went to sleep." Without another word she toppled over him smooshing Hiei into the mattress as she lay on top of him.

Hiei tensed slightly as she brought her hand up lazily to play with his hair. Hiei wasn't one for cuddling but this…was nice. She curled into the crook of his neck and fell asleep quickly. Hiei finally relaxed and enjoyed it. This wasn't so bad he could really get used to it. And soon he found himself falling into a deep slumber as well.

**Oh my God…I can't believe I wrote that. I have to go wash my mouth out with soap now. Tee-hee. **

**You know that I can't do double spacing on my stories in the new quick edit now? No sir, not a fan of that at all. **

Preview:

As Natsumi is his property he would obviously somehow have to mark her…ouch.

Happy New Years, hooray fireworks!

Just one night on the roof…how far will they go? **Major lime and fluff alert. Yay? **


	15. Stars Can Fall Too

**FCAT…blah…sorry for the long wait.**

**Mindless Blah, Blah #8: **I have nothing to say really…um…the clouds are nice. Ska music rocks!

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **Well…I don't think that's very cool. They suck. You should beat them up…that's what I always do of course it gets me in a heap of trouble. They don't call me anti-social for nothing though! Just think of it this way, how many people do you know who actually keep touch with their high school friends?

**Mason the Crazy: **Hehe…but you gotta feel bad for Botan somehow…right?

**End1Of2Dragons: **...okay! You don't have to be so mean about it!

**SweetKissOfChaos: **Yea about your monkey, it totally bit me in the ass! It hurt…but anyway I'm here and I have updated! (Finally, it took me long enough I know!)

**xxXGoddessXofXDeadXLoveXxx: **Did you get my reviews? I totally out them in as soon as you asked. I'm happy to read other people's fictions. Yep. Don't take it off, keep going at it!

**HieiFan666: **Exactly…immaturity and maturity come at all the right times. I wonder…if the ball drops in Japan? Well I suppose it will now cause I think that will so work for what I'm going for…or maybe not. Not sure yet…

**Smirking Arrogance: **Oh well that's good…I'm always one for keeping Hiei in character. Thank you very much! I like that keyboard bit, reminds me of Star Wars…awesome movies.

**AnimeFreaks13: **Hehe…your reviews always get me giggling, I didn't doubt you for a second though. Poor Botan, irreversible psychological trauma…check. Hehehe.

**Sausage: **Mate…huh…maybe! That means that Hiei ran off to Australia! Ho, ho…anyway.

**SummoneroftheSilverWolf: **Sorry for the long wait…I know I took forever!

**Property of Hiei: **I…er…wish you the best of luck with that. Ouch…but YES! Tell me what happened, I'm quit interested…the suspense is killing me!

**DigiFox: **Ah…heating up…yea…with the whole fire thing…I get it…hehe.

**Priestess Rin: **I know it isn't exactly soon but…here it is!

**Suntiger: **I know! I suppose there might be no changing Hiei though…he is so stubborn…but still so Kawaii.

**Shadow-Seeker-13: **HAHAHAAH! Oh my KAMI THAT WAS FUNNY! You make me laugh hysterically. I bet they did…EW…quit the humpable one isn't he? No one can help it; it's his fault for being pretty!

**SoulessAmaya: **Oh gee…I dunno when they are gonna do it. Huh…speaking of suspense, when will I get the first chapter of your story! I'm going crazy as well! Eeek!

**Soulless Eyes: **Sorry for the long wait, I know I took my sweet ass time!

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **Well I totally think you could sing! Even though I can't hear you…not the point. So glad you don't think my story is friggin crap…! Tee-hee. Well, that's all I have to say for now.

**Wolf of Fire: **I like the title too…very sexually perverted! Hehe…

**Hesushika: **Well…I suppose it's about as plain a mark as ever…oh well…I still think it's cool! But that's just because I'm a loser…

**DarkGoddess29: **WHAT DO YOU MEAN SIX WEEKS! When did I do that? (Is very confused)

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **STRAY FROM KURAMA! HIEI IS ALL PRETTY! I mean…totally go for it. I think you could make a kick ass Hiei fiction, so yea, I'll totally read it!

**Hieiloving101: **OH no! I'm sorry I hope your ankle gets better. I was reading your profile and I'm hoping you get some fan fictions up…yep I'm looking forward to that.

**CrAzY-MaNiAc-PeRsOn: **Lol! You ROCK ME! And thank you for letting me borrow Kill Me Kiss Me! It's so cute I just love it! Dude, I hope Mrs. Reynolds's doesn't make us do anything all week!

**Hieiluver121: **Yea sorry, but I'm glad you understand. Okay now, calm down from the sugar gum. Step away from the sugar! You are so hyper!

**KoorimeFireFox: **I know it's not soon…but you know…hehe

**Piercing Rain: **Thank you, I know it took me a million years though!

**Lopa: **Oh really you think I am creative? Cool! The whole you go girl thing, I didn't think it was weird, my friend says it all the time so…go girl! Yea…I guess it does sound kind of silly…oh well!

**Kimahrigirl: **So glad that you like it, you find out about the Spirit Protector this chapter, I didn't forget about it!

**Felinoel: **Ya koi is the slang. Youkai means demon. A hanyou (Spelling) is a half demon, so tell your friends they are silly!But yes it does mean a full demon, cause the name had to do with Hiei, get it?

**Kendra: **It is quite kinky isn't it? The lemons and limes will be raining…and the fluff! Oh yea.

**Jet: **Four standardized tests and one major writer's block later, I'm back!

**ShadowFox: **Kya! Okay, here I am, here I am!

**Hieilover89: **Flippin sweet! I promise to update more often!

**Chapter 15-Stars Can Fall Too **

**-**

If you were outside and walked by a coffee shop, you wouldn't pay much attention to those inside. Unless of course the ones inside was Hiei and Natsumi. Because as it appeared…they were.

_Botan knows…damn. _Natsumi cursed silently, staring absentmindedly into the black steaming coffee set out before her.

Botan of all people had to know.

Botan was a blabber mouth.

Damn…

Well it was going to get out sooner or later so if anyone was going to find out; it might as well have been now. But it now appeared that they were being ignored as Botan hadn't called them for quite a while.

She sighed and drifted her gaze to Hiei. If you're wondering why Hiei was in a coffee shop in public, it was because Natsumi had dragged him there. Of course, it had to be the most gothic coffee shop on the block, and Hiei, liked his coffee _black _apparently.

She sighed again. Lately, Hiei just wanted to stay inside. It kind of annoyed her actually because he had turned into 'Mr. I-Don't-Do-Public-Displays-Of-Affection-Unless-I'm-Certain-It'll-Lead-To-Sex.' She knew that demons didn't do the whole dating thing…but she sure as hell wasn't going to jump into sex and bare a million children.

But she supposed it was…sweet…in a way. That was just Hiei's way of showing affection. He compromised for her. Suddenly Hiei's eyes picked up to meet her own.

Speak of the devil.

"Can we leave this place now? It's friggin boring and that boy over there has straps all over his pants." He complained, pointing with his eyes. She corrected him lightly. "There bondage pants and yes, we can go." She laughed half heartedly and laid her money on the counter. "You never want to do anything anymore, ever since Christmas…whoa!"

Natsumi stopped cold in her tracks halfway out the door causing Hiei to almost run into her. Before he could scream, 'What', she turned around, frazzled. "It's New Year's Eve! Oh my God, we need fireworks!" She was down right expecting the look of confusion she got from Hiei; that boy knew nothing about holidays.

"I can't believe I forgot! You've been keeping me inside so much I forgot!" she lightly slapped his shoulder making Hiei shoot an annoyed glare at her with his eyes blazing. Still, he did nothing. He only asked what ridiculous excuse for a holiday New Year's was.

And just like that, the tranquil spell was broken.

"Don't be such a stiff ass. It's a lot of fun, you can lit fire works…I know you like fire."

"Hn, no presents? Just fire?"

She nodded. "Yep! Doesn't that sound fun?"

Perhaps…Hiei thought about it for a moment. A no strings attached plan it seemed. And if he was going to get in her pants…er…impress her…he would need to be flexible. This did appear to be what everyone was doing in the city anyway.

So about three minutes later, Hiei found himself standing by a shady looking cart with the big words: 'BOOM, Fireworks' printed on it. _Is this really all these ningens do? _He grunted mentally. Natsumi seemed to be enjoying it. She was forking over cash and grabbing all the bottle rockets and roman candles she could find. Kurama had once mentioned how New Year's was a time to cleanse away evil spirits…hopefully that wasn't Natsumi's plan.

At any rate she certainly wouldn't be cleansing anything with a cherry bomb.

"Alright…I think we have enough." Natsumi announced. Hiei stared at the three bags of fireworks in her hands. He would keep his comments to himself for now. He couldn't help but notice though, as she was paying there were a few boys eyeing her. Hiei didn't like that. Not one bit.

Obviously humans didn't know when someone belonged to someone else. A damn shame for them. Hiei wrapped his arm around Natsumi's waist and tugged on her so they were connected at the hip. "Ow…" she pursed her lips and waited for an explanation.

"Stay close." He instructed blankly. Natsumi blinked and turned her head to see two boys slowly backing away. So maybe Hiei had been quick to protect his property, but in truth he was worried. She smiled smugly.

No way he was gonna lose her.

-

"Those boys didn't even acknowledge the fact that you are mine." Hiei argued as they stepped into the apartment. He kicked a few magazines out of the way so Natsumi could set her bags down on the cluttered counter. "That's just the way people are Hiei…I don't think it's anything to be alarmed about or get all-…"

Hiei cut her off with the most outrageous statement she had ever heard. "I'll have to mark you."

She couldn't stop laughing for five minutes.

"Mark me? Like a horse? You gonna brand me or something?" Her accent altered into a southwestern one, causing Hiei to steam with anger. "I'm being serious."

"Aw, koi, don't be jealous…"

Hiei, jealous? No it was not a possibility…was it? "I am NOT jealous, but I can't have all these boys trying to get with you…remember Takashi?"

"I thought we weren't going to talk about him anymore?" That's right…they had sort of an agreement not to even mention Takashi anymore. As soon as the name rolled of Hiei's tongue he knew it was a mistake. "Hn, sorry but it's true."

Natsumi crossed her arms. "Well…what kind of mark?"

"Anyone I choose." Such a control freak that boy…

She pouted her lip. Maybe he wanted her to get a tattoo…was that what he was implying? Honestly she didn't plan on getting one anytime soon and she was most definitely not going to let him brand her. For now she could just stay loyal couldn't she? Wait. She backed up her thoughts. Did that mean that Hiei didn't think she could stay loyal? No way…he did not go there. "What exactly are you saying? That I'll cheat?"

Whoa…where did that come from? Hiei was simply stating that he wanted to mark her…this was by no means an accusation. "Hell no, I just want every demon in Makai to know you. Are. Mine."

In a flash Natsumi beamed. She positively _beamed _with happiness. Hiei had never seen such a naïve smile. It was too cute. "Koi!" She grabbed him in a tight bear hug, the kind that squeeze your lungs dry of breath but you love anyway. Hiei that noticed her neck was in plain view. Well…now was as good a time as any he supposed.

A jolt of pain sent its way through Natsumi's body, starting from the neck. It was over in a second and she slapped her hand to the pain, feeling two bite marks in its place. It took a moment for it to register…Hiei had bit her…on the neck. She took her hand off and noticed little droplets of blood.

She could have said several things at the moment. She could have made a joke about how Hiei was like a vampire. Instead she spat out, "Kinky…you are one kinky demon."

Hiei blushed; a tint actually crept up to his cheeks. "Fool! I marked you!" Natsumi's eyes widened in a sort of 'Oh' form. So somehow this would ward of other demons? Well…there are some things we were never meant to understand. "Yea well couldn't that Spirit thing just ward off other boys?" She asked, although it seemed a bit late to compromise. Hiei's eye twitched. "Oh…that."

"What did you do?"

So quick to accuse.

"Hiei…"

The fire demon clicked his tongue. "I warded it away…"

"WHAT! Why did you do that? I…you make no sense! Were you jealous of _that _to!"

"No." _Maybe…_

Natsumi threw her hands into the air out of sheer frustration. There was no getting through to a brick wall though so she dropped it. "The smell you give off will tell other's to stay away." She sniffed the air around her suspiciously. "You made me smell?"

"Only demons can smell it…" he assured her. She sighed in relief. It seemed like all the surprises were out now. It was time to relax.

_Pop_

_Pop_

_Pop_

Hiei's ears twitched and he turned to the alien sound. It seemed to be echoing through out the apartment. "Oh see…people have already started setting off fire works!" she explained. There was sudden mass excitement in her voice. "And the ball drops at midnight!"

(I'm not exactly sure what they do on New Year's in Japan, but you know the ball should drop everywhere so hahaha! On with the fic!)

For a moment, Hiei wasn't sure if he heard that right. Maybe the fire works had shot his hearing. "The…ball?"

"Uh-huh!" Apparently his hearing wasn't going. She suddenly realized his mind was in the gutter and took a moment to explain. "Get it? It's supposed to be cool, not dirty! Gawd…I still can't believe you warded that Spirit thing away…it was kinda cool."

"Hn, whatever."

It seemed that Natsumi had completely forgotten about it though because she was now ecstatic with ideas for that night. As if she hadn't gotten enough. Natsumi was now grabbing a blanket and what looked like Pocky and instant noodles. She pointed to the bags of fire works on the table. "We can camp out on the roof tonight and watch the stars!" She now pointed to the radio next to Hiei. "We can listen for the ball drop on the portable radio."

Hiei looked at Natsumi's face. It was like before…she was just beaming…she seemed so…so…happy. And saying no was something Hiei didn't see as an option. "Where on the roof?" he finally asked, a smirk hinting across his face.

-

Lamely enough, it appeared they would have to wait until sundown to see any real fireworks, for now they were accompanied by the noise of distant fire crackers. This didn't seem to hinder Natsumi's spirits however; she was well prepared to set off their fire works. An unmistakable glow shined across her face as she equipped to light the wick.

They had moved to the far side of the roof because there was a good chance something might get light on fire that shouldn't. After several failed attempts, Natsumi started to get frustrated. "It's probably a dud, just get another." Hiei suggested flatly. "It can't be a dud! This fucker cost me three bucks!" she argued. Hiei sighed before getting up from his spot on the blanket and grabbing the matchbox.

"You're lighting it wrong."

She raised her eyebrow. Since when had he become so good at this? "Fine, you try it if you're so great at it."

However in a split second sparks were flying out of the wick and they jumped back while it went off. No, Hiei was never going to let this down. She sighed in defeat while Hiei resumed his position on the blanket and she joined him. Sundown was well on its way now.

Natsumi fell back onto the blanket and gazed up at the orange tint the sky had acquired and sighed romantically. Hiei turned his head to face her. "What is it?" Without saying a word, she pointed straight up to the sky where Hiei noticed a small twinkle.

"The first star of the night…" she whispered, almost inaudibly.

…SO? Was the first thing that came to Hiei's mind. As if she had read his thoughts, Natsumi continued. "My mom always said the first star of the night is the first star to fall…" She kept her voice soft. Her mom…Hiei had only heard Natsumi mention her a few times, and it was so brief but judging from her tone it seemed as though she really loved her mother. He wondered how she died…but…he didn't ask.

"Stars don't fall." Hiei decided to answer. Natsumi's faces scrunched up but Hiei continued. "It's simply a-…"

"Hiei just shut up and try to get the message."

"That would be?"

"If you always try to be the first…be the best…you're gonna fall."

"Hn, are you trying to tell me something?"

"No! But, my mom was always right. I bet you that star is going to fall tonight." Before Hiei could reply, a voice came on over the radio. "Hello! I'm here reporting live from central Tokyo where the New Year's ball is only hours away from falling." The man's voice blared. You could hear the screams of excited Japanese behind him.

(Just go with me!)

Judging from the sky, they had at least five hours until midnight. "Okay, are we ready to light more fire works?" she asked. Hiei shrugged and then nodded faintly.

For the next couple of hours they continued lighting the fire works and Natsumi's pocky caught on fire when she held it too close to the flame. "Be careful dammit!" Hiei would reprimand but she would only grin childishly. Quite the risk taker, that girl. But several hours and two complaints later, they had used up all their fire power.

They collapsed on the blanket. The sky was now a midnight blue and completely covered in stars. The excitement rose as the reporter on the radio held his microphone to a festival where children were dancing. "Just a few more hours, can you believe it?"

"Hard to believe, huh?" Natsumi asked, repeating the question. Hiei shrugged with his eyes. "I don't know, what is that supposed to mean?"

"A whole new year…it's crazy."

"Hn, if that's what you want to call it." She groaned in disgruntlement; sometimes Hiei was just no fun. They stayed silent for a while now, listening to the announcer try to pep them from New Year's. "Do you think…never mind."

Hiei blinked. "No, what?"

"Never mind."

"Just finish the question woman!" Natsumi hissed like a cat. This was pissing Hiei off. "Just tell me." She finally caved. "Do you think Takashi will ever come back?" Hiei was suddenly wishing she hadn't asked that question.

"No," he answered a little too quickly. There was a possibility that Takashi could return. He hoped not for Takashi's sake because the next time would be his last time. That boy, oh he made Hiei so mad! He just couldn't take a hint at all…and he seemed too much like a stalker for Hiei's liking. Not that the fire demon hadn't done some stalking of his own, but honestly, around Natsumi it was a big no, no. "Don't worry, he won't come back, why do you think like that?" She shrugged. "I dunno…"

She suddenly sprawled her legs over him and laughed half-heartedly. Natsumi moved on top of him so their noses were bumping. Her eyes spelt mischief. "What?" he asked suspiciously. She shrugged again. "I dunno…" she said slyly. After that they sort of collided into a hard and passionate kiss. It was a long time coming.

Hands moved everywhere in a sort of moment of lust. It had to make Hiei wondered where all this was coming from but he didn't question it. The desire…no the need to mate was overpowering logic. Usually he kept dominant, but Natsumi's tongue brushed against his lips far before his did. Hiei decided to take control. He wrapped his leg around her thigh and rolled her underneath him. It didn't phase out the hot kissed that were coming out of nowhere. Their breath was hot and it seemed to get rather sweaty even if it was only sixty degrees out. She gasped as she felt Hiei's hip bone roll against her own. She was panting now…since when did it get so damn hot?

Hiei's fingers were icy to the touch but sent chills through her spine as they caressed her stomach and ribcage. OH Kami was this it? Was the big finish?

"Ten! Nine!" Natsumi's eyes snapped open. It was the ten second count until midnight. The ball had begun to drop. "Hiei!" she screamed, shaking the boy so she could wriggle out from underneath. He clenched his fists. So close. "It's almost midnight!"

"SO?" How the hell was that more important than what was going on right then? She suddenly realized what was racing through his mind. She sunk slightly in posture. "Oh…Hiei…um…I don't…I mean I'm not ready…for _that_." Natsumi avoided his gaze in fear it might light her on fire. He sighed in defeat. Yea he knew that, he just thought…oh hell. "Hn…its fine…for now." The compromise seemed alright to her.

"One!" Her eyes widened as millions of cheers blared through the radio speakers. It was officially the new year…the past year…well it had been rather eventful to Natsumi and Hiei both. She smiled softly at Hiei. "Hey…" Hiei looked up at her, his eyes filled with slight disappointment. "Happy New Year." She whispered before taking his hand into her own and kissing him softly.

And somewhere in the distance…a star fell.

-

Writer's block is a bad thing. Anyway…life goes on…

WELL…the lime is going to be absent from quite a few chapters. I have HUGE plans for the next chapter. Angst-o-rama.

Preview:

"I knew he would come back but…but I didn't think you would…do this…how could this have…" She trailed off for a moment to squeeze her eyes shut and block out the burning tears that were threatening to fall. It had been almost two years since she cried...since then she hadn't cried once. But now…he had made her cry. It was his fault. Finally she continued. "…happened it just…it…Hiei…what have you done?"


	16. I Cry

**Mindless Blah, Blah #9: **This is…the angst that was coming for quite a while. Enjoy.

**Mason the Crazy: **Whoa now, I couldn't have you exploding, that would be rather messy and not fun to clean up. Didn't Gir say that about tacos one time in Invader Zim? (Sigh) I love that show.

**SweetKissOfChaos: **Yea I know! I hate writer's block it really messes with my mind and what not. That's no fun, no fun at all.

**DarkGoddess29: **Holy crap. You are like…EXTREMELY hyper. I recommend napping…no wait…being sedated would probably work best for the condition you are in right now. :P

**Starfall88: **I promise to update whenever possible!

**HieiFan666: **'December during the hot scene'. Nice…I enjoyed that. Well I suppose the star is foreshadowing something, since well you know, Takashi comes back and Hiei gets mad and well all that chaos!

**SoulessAmaya: **Hey no worries, good writing takes time…I suppose. I hope you feel better soon.

**Piercing Rain: **Champagne? I think I'll just take some Dr. Pepper…nothing's better!

**Smirking Arrogance: **Okay I won't spoil it for you! Really, you liked the star thing? I thought it was rather cheesy on my part…but then again…everything I do these days seems to be cheesy.

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **OH is that so? Sorry, being in high school I suppose I just naturally assumed you were too. Well still, high school is soon! Ah poor Hiei…the ignorant fool. That's just his nature though I suppose. Don't be worried about the preview…well…maybe you should be…dun, dun, dun! Are you in mad suspense?

**Jessica: **Yes! It was the first one she saw. I was pretty sure Japan celebrated New Year's like us too…I mean they can't do everything totally different now can they?

**SummonerOfTheSilverWolf: **Oh yea…the _nice _young man. Psh. Well, we'll see about that now wont we?

**Hesushika: **Well we have to give him some credit! Hehe…don't worry about the lime it's…hibernating for now. Lol.

**xxXGoddessXofXDeadXLoveXxx: **I love angst too! It's so depressing and I just love it! Ahem…anyway…you know your penname takes me like freaking forever to write, I always mess it up. I am a bad typist! AH!

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **I would totally throw that fire work right back at you! (Kidding!)

**Felinoel: **(Bows) Thanks for recommending my story! Your rock!

**CrAzY-MaNiAc-PeRsOn: **OH NO! Zombie cannot have mono! I will cry! I will! WAAAA!

**Suntiger: **Oh hehe…well what was it…oh right! The part about the smell…I suppose I found it a bit un like Hiei to do something like that or show something like that openly. But…I could be wrong. Or not. Who knows?

**Shadow-Seeker13: **Who _wouldn't _want to be fucked on the roof…anyway? Yea… Hiei is a little pervert isn't he? Oops.

**Gothic-Ember: **Lol, of course!

**Priestess Rin: **Muaha…have you in the grip of suspense don't I? Woot!

**Hieiluver121: **Actually I do kinda agree with you. Made me slightly mad at my lack of character skill. (Stabs keyboard) ANYWAY! Have fun with poker, maybe you'll win big no?

**AnimeFreaks13: **Hmm…does someone have a crush on Kyo? HUH? DO YA? Anyway…yea…Takashi…well…you'll find out.

**Wolf of Fire: **You know what he's going to do!

**Keiko Yukimora: **WOW! A STALKER! (Is amazed) I am very glad you like my story, and um…well I already thanked Felinoel so uh…thank you for reviewing? Yup…er…er…what story? Eh? I want to know!

**Hieiloving101: **Well I am very glad your ankle is better. I have to say…just about all of the boys that I know are like that…so maybe I should go find new boys...hm…

**Sausage: **HAPPY BIRHTDAY! I used to have a pair of converse like that only the fell apart. Hehe…so now I stick to my black ones, my white ones, my red ones, and my…well yea…all the others.

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **Even if there isn't a ball in Tokyo, there should be! I wonder what they really do for New Years, it would be quite interesting to see I think.

**Kimahrigirl: **It is promising…I think.

**Kitsune Kit: **Thank you!

**Hiei's Dark Abyss: **Hm…I have never seen the Resident Evil movies. I have to rent that so then I can read your story and actually get it! School, I have been busy with it too, all those exams I have been having, bleh!

**CrimsonTears: **Ah well even without a well rounded critique, I still enjoyed reading your review!

_When you wake up_

_You don't expect a better place_

_A better time _

_When all of the pieces fit_

_You watch them fall apart_

_After the pain _

_After the hate_

_After the sadness_

_All that's left _

_Is stillness_

**Chapter 16-I…Cry…**

Perhaps the spirits had not been in favor of a well New Year because on this first of January, it was particularly rainy. It didn't just rain though, it poured. And there seemed to be no end in sight to the gray clouds that covered the once blue skies. Now on this particular day in January, two people were practically in tears because of their boredom.

They had done nothing all day…they barely even spoke.

It wasn't to say that Hiei was mad at Natsumi he was just…disappointed. And that didn't mean he was some sort of sex maniac but…when a demon needs to mate…it needs to mate. That's all there is to it. And since last night, Hiei hadn't said much to Natsumi nor did he make any passes.

But in truth he just wanted to get it over with.

Of course to Natsumi this was a direct attack on her ego. Like he had any right to be mad…he had NOTHING. She thought everything was good when Hiei said he respected her decision not to have sex yet. But apparently she was mistaken.

At least however, it had been gotten across that Hiei didn't really think she was his property. But she had her doubts now. _That bastard…che…whatever. He can be mad if he wants, it's not affecting me. _

Lie, lie.

Oh kami, wouldn't he just say something to her instead of staring like a creep?

Did he want to say something to her? It looked like he did, but was having a hard time with it. It appeared as though she would have to urge him on. "Hiei, do you have something to say?"

The fire demon blinked. Oh…so she knew it appeared. Naturally Hiei had assumed she thought nothing was wrong. They really needed to work on their communication skills.

Che.

"Nothing is wrong." He answered nonchalantly. They had gotten nowhere...but still...she pushed. "No seriously, are you mad at me or something?"

"No." he replied flatly. Well it was a shot in the dark really, and Natsumi had exactly expected him to jump out and share his feelings. "Oh, okay then." She sighed inaudibly. Really now, she had nothing else to say. It was a rainy day and not much was available for them to do. All of the snow had melted so they could not sled; it was too rainy for a walk and too sloppy out to sword fight.

_Today would be a good day for a…hey! _"Koi?" Hiei peered up from his staring out the window. "Hn?" Half of him was hoping she would ask him if he was mad again but the other half didn't want to talk about it. "Uh, well…you want to watch a movie? It's a pretty rainy day so it would be perfect, neh?" Hiei briefly sketched his situation. He could either stare out the window for the remainder of the day or agree to watch a movie with Natsumi.

"Hn, what movie?"

Honestly Natsumi hadn't thought of the movie yet, it was just a suggestion. She didn't want to bore Hiei…and she knew they both hated romance movies. She didn't really have much of a movie selection either, so their choices were limited. "Uh…how about the Suicide Club?"

That certainly struck an interest in the boy. He cocked his head slightly to the side. "Suicide Club?" Natsumi grabbed the movie out from under a magazine stack and tossed to Hiei, who caught it easily. He skimmed the back cover quickly before agreeing to watch the movie. "It had better not be some stupid movie." He threatened.

"Please, would I pick out a stupid movie?" she assured him, shoving it into the tape player. Natsumi really wished that she had a DVD player at times, but she could not afford it. The thought only crossed her mind once however.

Natsumi settled into the couch, signaling for Hiei to join her. He complied reluctantly, as it was quite obvious; he had an issue with cuddling. Hiei kept a close but safe distance away from her. Man, he hated the whole, holding hands and staring dreamily into each other's eyes.

Ugh.

But then again, Natsumi wasn't one for that either.

"Watch this Hiei, those students are going to jump off the roof." Hiei directed his attention to the screen and saw as several students collided with death. What an…odd movie. Was there a purpose to them committing suicide? Or perhaps he hadn't been being much attention like he thought.

"Hiei."

The crimson eyed boy wasn't paying attention. His eyes were glued to the TV screen as a few high school students plunged to their death. Natsumi eyed him carefully, watching him as he scowled mentally at the TV. She quickly realized that he probably didn't like the movie and was just watching it for her. She frowned slightly. "Hiei…"

Hiei blinked back into reality and turned to the chocolate haired girl. "You bored?" she asked, twirling a strand of her hair between her index finger and thumb. Hiei, much to her surprise, shook his head. She blinked in surprise. "If you aren't ready to go all the way, then maybe we should take a break so I don't do anything I regret."

Another blink from Natsumi.

"Oh…okay." _Oh my God, is he being considerate? _"But you looked a little bored so I…never mind. Thank you?" Was that the right thing to say? Well she supposed that was as close to it as she could get.

They got silent again, and returned their attention to the TV set. Natsumi sighed again; the silence was a little unsettling. "If you're tired or bored, we can turn it off and do something else." She offered.

"Like what? It's ten thirty, everything is closed." Hiei argued. She pursed her lip…that was true. They could have continued to watch the movie but Natsumi got up and hit the stop button. "I'm gonna go to bed." She explained.

"Hn, that was a stupid movie."

Natsumi smiled. "Yea, I know. That's why I picked it out."

"You contradict yourself."

"Goodnight Hiei."

_-The breaking of a child_

_The taking away of innocence_

_This is the darkness that is conceived -_

Thunder clashed. Natsumi shot up. It was a common reaction that she had gotten used to over time. Natsumi really hated the thunder storms that had seemingly become more frequent in Japan these days. She finally decided to leave her bed and wake up Hiei. He had decided to sleep by the window in the kitchen that night, probably because it was wider. How many times did she have to tell him he could sleep in her bed?

It was well past midnight now but Natsumi knew she wouldn't get back to sleep easy. Natsumi grasped her shoulder and sulked for a brief moment, but only a moment. Lightning flashed again and was followed by a loud clasp of thunder that made her leap up like a salmon. _Time to wake up Hiei_.

She saw another flash of lightning out of the corner of her eye and waited for the thunder. Instead, she heard a tap. It was just a tap, but for some reason it stirred a knot in her stomach. Natsumi glanced daringly at the window. She saw a shadow move.

Someone was out there.

Natsumi valiantly stepped towards the window. Who could be out there? A burglar? "Who's there?" she demanded.

"Natsumi?"

The blood in her veins stopped running. Whoever it was…knew her name. His voice sounded slightly familiar…was it…no. She let the words roll off her chapped lips. "Takashi?"

"Let me in, I need to see you." He said, without confirming his name. But she knew for a fact that he was out there. What was she supposed to do now? Their last encounter had ended briefly and rather roughly but she felt no need to apologize. "Go away, it's late. And for fuck's sake you are outside my window! Just leave!" She kept her voice at a high whisper in fear of waking Hiei.

Takashi pleaded with her. "Come on, I just want to talk."

"No." She answered firmly again. The knot in her stomach tightened as the window was slid up and open. Damn, she always left her windows unlocked. As Takashi entered her room, she knew something was wrong. God, he looked pathetic; like he hadn't slept in days or something.

"Get out now." She said harshly. He was entering her house without permission…that was just like breaking and entering! Natsumi knew she could take Takashi; she was much stronger but…why was he there? "If Hiei wakes up and sees you he's going to beat the shit out of you, please leave. No…I don't even want to say please to you. GET OUT."

"I'm not afraid of Hiei."

"You should be! Stupid!"

"I need you."

"Oh for fuck's sake…I'm not taking this. If you don't get out I'm going to-…"she was immediately cut off as her bedroom door was thrown open. Anger clouded the room in seconds. _Hiei…Hiei…Hiei. It's Hiei. _

Natsumi whipped her head around and saw the spiky haired boy fuming by the door. "Hie-…" before she could finish and try to calm him down, Hiei flashed to Takashi. _Oh this can't end good. _Natsumi thought wearily, rolling her eyes. Hiei brought his fist back before Takashi could react and punched him, hard. The boy flew backwards into the wall, blood spattering from his nose to the floor. Natsumi jumped back slightly. Wow, Hiei was pissed.

"Um, Hiei…"

He wasn't paying attention; Hiei was too busy beating the living shit out of Takashi. And it didn't seem like he would be letting off anytime soon. Okay, so Natsumi wanted Hiei to teach Takashi a lesson but this was a little…much. "Hiei…I think you can stop."

Hiei had Takashi by the throat now, pushing him to the ground and punching him repeatedly. "Hiei stop you're gonna kill him!" she screamed, her voice was almost serious. Hiei wouldn't really do that.

Right?

"Hiei stop it I think he's unconscious!" she begged, but it wasn't working. She was about to plead with him again when Hiei brought his right hand up and ceased punching him. She was about to breath a sigh of relief when…

"Hiei DON'T!"

The fire demon reached for his katana and unsheathed it quickly. Like the flashes of lightning outside, his sword was swift and quick. "PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYMORE PEOPLE DIE BEFORE ME!"

It was too late.

When Natsumi's eyes began to blur, she thought for a moment she was going blind. But it soon became apparent that she was crying. "He wont be bothering you-…" Hiei cut himself off and stared at her in bewilderment. She was…she was crying. "Why are you crying?"

"I knew he would come back but…but I didn't think you would…do this…how could this have…" She trailed off for a moment to squeeze her eyes shut and block out the burning tears that were threatening to fall. It had been almost two years since she cried...since then she hadn't cried once. But now…he had made her cry. It was his fault. Finally she continued. "…happened it just…it…Hiei…what have you done?"

Hiei scrunched his nose slightly. "Yes, he's dead. People die…you know that."

"But you…"

"But nothing. I don't understand why you are so upset about this pathetic human's life." Hiei was an unforgiving person. To him, anything that crossed him, deserved to die.

"You took his life Hiei…that's just not…that's just not right." Hiei sighed. "We won't get caught if that's what you are worrying about." Natsumi shook her head slightly and brought her hands up to cover her face. Just looking at him, covered in blood, his eyes wide open in shock and fear.

It was just like before…

She wasn't worried about getting caught…how could Hiei be thinking about that at a time like this? Natsumi was about to ask him just that when the sound of sirens filled her ears.

Oh shit.

Someone must have heard the noise and called it in as a domestic disturbance. That meant the police were on their way. She stared wild eyed at Hiei, wondering what to do. "Hiei…the police." The fire demon clenched his fist. Damn humans. He cooled his voice slightly. "Stop crying…just stop. This is nothing to cry about."

Nothing to cry about? NOTHING TO CRY ABOUT? Just how many lives had Hiei taken? "Look I didn't mean to make you cry but this is just ridiculous."

She wasn't listening. "Where do we go? What do we do? The police are-…"

_Knock _

_Knock_

_Knock_

"Unh…" she caught her breath and clasped her hand over her mouth with a soft slap. She didn't think the police would have arrived so quickly. They were currently knocking on her door. "Hiei what do we do?" she whispered.

Hiei pointed to the window. "Climb out the back." He commanded. "I will meet you in the park in one hour." Was he stupid? She wondered. The police were right outside the door…he had to go with her. "But Hiei what about you?"

"I'll take care of the police…and the body."

"B-but…" Hiei cocked his head gently. "No buts…you have to go before it's too late. I'll meet you there." His blank face wasn't too reassuring…not as reassuring as she would have liked it to be anyway. "Promise?"

"Of course, go."

Natsumi nodded and wiped away the tears that had begun to stain her face. She had to be strong; this was no time to be weak. This was no time to cry. Not when she had come so far. She grabbed the spare katana that was laid by her bed and opened the window, giving Hiei one last glance before departing.

_-What strand of sanity is left, must be cut…-_

It was cold.

It was raining.

There was lightning.

Natsumi wished suddenly that she had put on some shoes. But those were the least of her worries at the moment. _I hope Hiei is okay. _More thunder clashed. She hated thunder storms. Why did one have to come tonight? Why tonight? When all of this…Takashi's body flashed into her mind. _Shut it out, shut it out! _She felt more tears blind her eyes as she ran wildly through the rain into the grass of the park.

The park was entirely soaked, the once dead area where here and Hiei used to sled was wet and filled with grass. Was this where he wanted her to meet him? He ran down the hill fast, maybe Hiei was already there. He was fast after all. Her foot suddenly slipped out from under her.

"Unh…kya!" Natsumi felt her knees buckle and she began to tumble and slide down the hill. She felt her back collide with a blunt object and opened her eyes to see a broken and splintered tree. She remembered…when Hiei fell into that tree. It was so funny at the time. Now it just seemed stupid…it was just a memory now.

She narrowed her eyes. _This is no time to cry. Get up. _She locked her knees and ran deeper into the forest, clutching the slippery handle of the katana hard and breathing heavily. If she just ran a little further and got up a tree. Hiei would find her. He would come for her.

Natsumi finally stopped a mile into the forest. She was shivering and wet, but she had to stay strong. _Just a little while longer. Hiei is going to come. Hiei…Hiei killed him. He's dead. _Natsumi gulped hard. Slowly, she brought her knees to her chest and hugged them tight.

It rained harder.

_I can't take all this. _

It was just like before…this was just like before. Just like a year ago…

_I promised her I wouldn't cry…_

_-You are someone else's doll now-_

Did I mention I hate writer's block? Sigh…anyway. Isn't angst fun?

_A few notes: _Ahem! All of your worries and concerns will be answered in the next chapter! Yes! That means, Natsumi's childhood shall be revealed. Woot! I know you have been waiting a long time for that! Oh yea.

And I would like to send out a special thank you to my mom, for buying me Wendy's and giving me the will to right this chapter. Yum, cheeseburgers.

ALSO: This chapter lacked much humor. To make up for it, I give you this:

Hiei stared blankly at the item before him. He had decided two moments ago, that he would inspect the bathroom in Natsumi's apartment. Well he certainly wasn't expecting this.

All seemed well when he first walked in; the mirror had been cleaned up. But upon further inspection, he noticed something off about the trashcan. Was that a…what was that in there? Hiei bent down and leaned closer. The item, whatever it was, was slightly bloody but it wasn't a tissue. No, it was too thick to be a tissue. But he sure as hell wasn't going to ask Natsumi about it.

Some sort of weird girl thing no doubt.

"Hiei…what are you doing?"

The fire demon shot straight up and turned around. "Dammit woman, don't sneak up on people!" Natsumi glanced at Hiei and then at the trashcan. Oh.

OH.

She smirked. "Hiei tell me, what's in the trash can?" The fire demon blinked. He wasn't going to play this game. "A tissue." He answered simply. Natsumi suddenly busted into laughter. "Oh Hiei…let me tell you a little secret."

He was scarred forever.

Aren't I so silly? Yes, I know. Well anyway, that's all for now folks. I'm pathetic…just pay no attention to that. Tee-hee.

Preview:

So, why is she so upset about Takashi's death? Is there something more to this then is being let on? (There is)

"_Mommy…"_

"_Mommy's dead. You killed her." _


	17. All that's Left is Stillness

**Mindless Blah, Blah #10: **Not much to say except…enjoy the angst. And a little fluff at the end too. Hm…I am currently watching Pulp Fiction and eating an apple. Life is good.

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **OH don't worry, it all turns out for the best, and I wouldn't make it _that_ angsty. Not for this fiction anyway. For my others…I can't guarantee anything. I know what you mean, I always seem to meet people who are older than me on the net…ah…what are you gonna do?

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **Woo! Yes, some interesting stuff we have going on here.

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **Yes! My therapist says I'm normal too! (But what therapist doesn't?) Yes! I love Invader Zim! I own all the episodes! Must obey the taco man!

**xxXGoddessXofXDeadXLoveXxx: **Oh yes, happy St. Patrick's day to you too, I totally forgot about that. Angst is very fun, and there is much more of it in this chapter.

**AnimeFreaks13: **Huh…is this a more compassionate side of Lana I am seeing? Odd. Yes…very odd. Well of course, cheeseburgers fuel my mind and soul! I am practically addicted to them! Actually that's a lie. Whatever. Did Natsumi kill her mom? Or is it some sort of crazy mind trick? Who knows…I do. Not the point.

**Jessica: **Hehe…

**Hieiloving101: **Ha, I see you are excited about Takashi getting stabbed. Yea, Hiei is in deep shit right now. But he'll get over it somehow. I hope. Eh…hehe…

**Piercing Rain: **Uh, yea! Dr. Pepper is the way to go!

**Suntiger: **Ah I see, well being a feminist is always fun though. Writer's block sucks! I get that so much it's not even funny. (Sigh) If you need any strange and odd ideas I would be more than happy to think some strange things up. That's what I'm good for!

**Starfall88: **Oh yes, I was well aware of that, about how they go to Spirit Jail and what not. I do have some stuff planned, so no worries about what to do about that.

**Priestess Rin: **Yes they might! Takashi was a freak, is…hm…

**Kitsune Kit: **Sorry! I'll be clearing up your confusion in this chapter. Yep.

**Sausage: **I'm sorry, I hope your puking ceases so you can feel better and what not. Happy St. Patrick 's Day to you too! Even though I am not Irish, it's still a fun holiday.

**Shadow-Seeker-13: **Yes, Koenma will. Takashi scared everyone it seems…that's good. I was going for a creepy stalker vibe from him.

**BloodFlavoredDoghnutsRoxMySox: **Oh really? Scared the crap out of you? Well then, my job is done. Hehe. Oh that really sucks, funny because my dad told me I killed his spirit. Whatever. Life goes on. If life was like anime though…it would…we would…uh…I dunno. Thank you!

**Smirking Arrogance: **Go you! Go me! Hurray! Don't worry about Koenma and stuff I have it all figured out and yadda, yadda. Of course if I ignored that fact, it would make no sense.

**SummonerOfTheSilverWolf: **OH Takashi wanted nothing important. Who cares…it was meaningless really. OH thank you, yes I just wanted to add a bit of humor in there.

**Felinoel: **Yea Takashi had it coming to him all along! Thank you, I tried to make it funny.

**Keiko Yukimora: **I know what you mean, even if you didn't like the person it's always kinda sad when someone dies. I will update whenever and so on. This story actually only has a few chapters left before its official end!

**Sara-chan10: **Read and see! There was a tampon in the trashcan! Read! Read! We haven't found out about her mom yet! Hiei was sleeping by the kitchen window, not the bedroom window! Ahem! There! I have answered all the ones I could without ruining this chapter. Ahaha! I'm good; anyway…I'm done now.

**HieiFan666: **Amusing? Thank you! Yes, she has seen death. And yes, we do find out about her mommy! And yes! YOU SMELL CORRECTLY! There is a rat amongst them! The Lion King…love that movie. You know when he falls on the leaves and they swirl up it spells sex?

**Lopa: **Thank you, yea Hiei is really clueless when it comes to women.

**Lestatsgirl15: **Definite hatred there.

**Cora Pembroke: **Oh wow! Thank you so much! I'm so happy that Natsumi is a cool OC! Thank you again!

**Hesushika: **Death oh yes…and there is fluff in this chapter!

**SoulessAmaya: **Oh wow! Dark and sad…I was going for that. Yea he is…humans aren't too keen with that are they? I didn't really think of that until just recently.

**KoorimeFireFox: **Don't worry I will!

**Hazelcurlsaremine: **Yes! I pulled you in! My life has been completed! Not really, that was a joke. But I am glad you like my story.

**LoneWolfHiei: **Ah I see, well I look forward to you continuing in the future!

-

-

-

**Chapter 17-All that's Left is Stillness **

**-**

**-**

**-**

_It was raining…the night they died. _

Natsumi hugged her legs tighter, huddling into her own body for warmth. How long had Hiei been gone? There was really no way to tell in the thick canopy of the forest. And with the added rain and darkness, there was just no way. She sighed heavily.

This was not supposed to happen. And by this she meant everything. _After my parents died, I went out, got a job, went on student welfare…and everything should have been alright. When I met Hiei, things got weird…but better. And now everything is falling apart. _

For over a year Natsumi had been pushing. Pushing the memory of her parents behind her but every time a thunder storm would approach, it all came back. The reason she quit swordplay, the reason she was so petrified that Hiei had killed Takashi. Or if he was even dead at all…it was still a horrible reminder. Where did Hiei stab him? The chest? The lower abdomen? Did it matter? He was dead.

Dead.

Natsumi ran a finger over her neck and gasped. _My pendant…where's my pendant? Oh shit…I left it at the apartment…_She rung out her hair and blew warm air from her mouth into her hands, trying to keep her body temperature up. _Hiei please come soon…_

"_Oh baby…don't cry…I'm right here. Mommy's right here."_

_Don't call me weird, because at thirteen I still called my mom mommy. I loved her more than anything. I never saw her cry or get angry at me. Not even once. I wished I could be like her…but…I had my dad's temper sometimes. _

_Once my dad told me that I was weak because I cried. So I stopped crying. When my mom asked me what was wrong, I told her I just grew up. I wanted to protect her, so I took up sword play. And then things happened. _

-

_When she was very young, she figured out that something was wrong. On her fourth birthday, when Natsumi walked in on her dad beating her mother…she knew something was very wrong. Natsumi was coming home from school, and when she opened the door, she felt like someone was in danger. She crept in closer, hearing noises from her parent's bedroom. _

"_Mommy?" _

_Seeing her mom being beaten and raped by her own dad wasn't something she thought she would walk in on…so she began to cry, a normal four year old reaction. And her dad began to yell at her. "Shut up! Stop crying!" She couldn't stop though, she was so young. _

"_Natsumi…get out…go outside honey…" her mother called, wiping her mouth dry of blood. It appeared her father was getting annoyed because he ran over to Natsumi and got right in her face. "I said shut up!" he screamed, grabbing her by the air and yanking her hard. "Stop it! Do not touch your daughter!" her mother screamed, daring to get up and protect Natsumi. _

"_Natsumi, please, go outside!" _

_So she ran outside. _

_For a while the event was forgotten, Natsumi was so young, she didn't remember much of it, but it always lingered in the back of her mind. Was…was there something wrong with her dad? Or did her mom do something wrong? _

_Her dad would come into her room at night and tuck her in like nothing was wrong. He would say, "You can't tall anyone when daddy gets mad. It's our secret. If anyone ever knew they would take mommy away, and it would be your fault." Was…was it her fault? Did she do something to make them angry? Maybe…she didn't want to believe it thought. It was fun at first…to pretend. She thought she could just keep pretending. But sooner or later you can't pretend anymore._

_You can't p r e t e n d anymore. _

_So around the age of ten, Natsumi stopped pretending. _

"_Mommy!" she called, jumping into the bright woman's arms. Natsumi's mother, was a tall slender woman, with chestnut hair down to her breasts and mint green eyes. She was a real beauty, with the exception of the ominous bruises on her arms and upper thighs. Despite this, she continued to smile brightly all the time. "Natsumi, what is it?" _

_Natsumi lightly ran her fingers over her mother's bruises, drawing down her brow. "Mommy I want to protect you. I want to…I want to be like a samurai." _

"_Baby…I'm supposed to be protecting you." _

"_And I want to protect you mommy…please? I want to be like a samurai!" _

"_Alright honey, alright. You can protect mommy." She was the only child…so she felt like she had to protect others. It was just how she felt about it. She wanted to protect people. _

_She wanted to p r o t e c t them. _

_For years, she would fight with swords, and the time never came up, but she felt like she was protecting her mother. Every time she got stronger, she thought she was helping her. She really thought she was making a difference. _

_Jump ahead. She's thirteen. _

_Flashback. She sees her dad beat her mom, still powerless. _

_End it. She's thirteen. There's a t h u n d e r s t o r m. _

_Natsumi settled back into a corner, tracing the rain on the window sill. She didn't mind thunderstorms, not then anyway. She was hiding her room, something she usually did. Her room wasn't that of a thirteen year olds. Her bedspread was still powdery lavender, with flower prints covering it. She had egg shell white whicker furniture, and an assortment of stuffed animals. She had a small section; of rock CD's that her mom introduced her to, as well as a concert shirt. But other than that, she was still a child. With mom there to help her. _

_The silence was a little unsettling at the moment. It was too quiet. Something was brewing; something was just waiting to explode. "Just shut up!" There it was. She knew her dad would yell soon. "Just because of that stupid bitch, I don't have enough! Do you hear me?" Natsumi knew he was talking about her. Whether or not her father really loved her was a question that seemed almost unanswerable at times _

_He would take her out for ice cream and laugh and smile. But other times he would tell her she was weak, and a worthless daughter to him. To a child, it was too confusing to handle. _

"_Please stop!" _

"_Just shut up!" _

_She couldn't take it anymore. Natsumi grabbed her sword lent out by the school she took swordplay at. She had no intention of killing her father, she just wanted to protect her mother. _You've done so much for me mom.

"_Dad, stop it! Please just stop it!" she screamed, for whatever reason she could find. Thirteen years…or however long was just too much. It had to stop then…now. _

_Absolute rage ran through his face. How could she…what place did she have saying that to him? He let go of her mother's wrists, his anger finding a new punching bag. Her. There was a jolt of pain as his fist came in contact with her stomach, causing her to throw up body fluid mixed with her own blood. She had never gotten beaten by her father before, her mom always made sure of that. But now, her mother was almost unconscious on the floor. She was powerless._

_They were both p o w e r l e s s. _

"_Daddy…stop…please…" _

_It would have been easier, if her mother had left him years ago. But she never had the courage. How could Natsumi's safety been ensured if she knew he would follow them? So she stayed, what was a little pain on her part to keep Natsumi safe? _

_Her father brought his fist back up and sent it straight down onto her eyes, causing her to spew hot tears. It hurt so much. She had never been in so much pain before. And so, she started to cry. "Stop crying! You're weak! Only the weak cry! What kind of daughter are you?" This didn't have to effect many would have hoped because she only cried harder. _

_And this only made him punch her more. _

I'm going t die. _She kept telling herself. _He's going to kill me…I can't take much more of this. _Beaten to death by her own father…it was not the way she wanted to go down. _

_Natsumi flew back, her body collided with the wall…right next to her katana. This was her chance. Her chance to really protect her mother…and herself. Natsumi unsheathed the sword and flew forward. This was it. She was going to end it. _

_Instead, her mother got up. At this time she had regained some consciousness and was now standing. She ran towards the father in an effort to tackle him and save her daughter. _

_Natsumi blinked at first, not sure what was going on exactly. One minute, the sword was in her hands…and the next…her father had it. How did he get it? There was no time to think about that as he swung around with the sword, the blade colliding with her mother's stomach. _

_It happened so fast. _

_Her mother began to slide down to the floor; blood cascaded through the open wound in her abdomen. Natsumi dashed over to her mother, her eyes shrink wrapped in tears. She was dying…she was dying be her sword. Her mother's eyes began to close, slowly, she got colder. _

"_Mommy?" _

"_Mommy's dead. You killed her."_

_Her father's voice began to ring in her ear. She killed her. It was her fault…she died by her sword. "No…no…I wanted to protect her…" _

"_You failed…you took her away from me!" He screamed, punching her in the head out of a fit of rage. So this was her fault now? _

_You f a i l e d. _

_Natsumi stumbled backwards over her dead mother, her vision dizzying as she began to black out from the pain. She was going to die with her mother…maybe it was better that way. There was thunder cracking in the background the last thing she could remember…was her father standing over her with her sword in his hand. She never got to see her mother smile…one last time. _

_But…_

_But. _

_When she came to, she was not dead. When she came to she was in a hospital. When she came to, it was her fourteenth birthday. When she came to, she found out her mother was dead, and her father had committed suicide. By her sword. _

_**Her sword. **_

_So when she really came to, she got rid of the flower print bedspread, and the stuffed animals. She went on student welfare, got a job, and started to live a life. She quit sword play. And she started over. For a whole year she got a new life, and she started to pretend again. She was pretending that she was happy. She was pretending that nothing ever happened. _

_She never wanted to see anyone die before her, never again. _

_But they had. _

_She doesn't like to pretend anymore. _

-

Natsumi shot her eyes open and began to pant. She must have fallen asleep…but for how long? Natsumi peered through the darkness to see. It must have only been for a few minutes…it was still dark. Oh damn it was official, as soon as Hiei got there she was going to kick his ass three times to next Tuesday.

Not to mention the rain seemed to be nowhere near ready to stop. If she didn't catch pneumonia from this, it would be pure luck. And of course that seemed to be running thin these days. She bit her lip to stop it from shivering; she knew it must have been a light shade of blue by now. She brought up her free hand that wasn't clutching the katana to wipe the mucus away from her nose. Officially, she should have been an icicle, but it appeared Natsumi would have to weather this out with out dying.

Or getting frostbit.

In any case, she knew that if Hiei had some how willingly gone with the police, they would eventually arrest her as well. But if Hiei had evaded them, they would have the problem…of…the body. They could, of course, let it rot for all it was worth in the apartment, BUT she wasn't too fond of that idea.

_Hiei if you don't come in the next five minutes…I'm really gonna worry here. I'll have to go to Kurama's. _

This was really too much, if there was one thing Natsumi hated to do, it was to wait in anticipation for something that might not even happen. _I have to go find him. _She decided, sliding down the slippery bark of the tree.

She banked her feet in the muddy and unleveled ground and started to run. Where was the edge of the forest again? To the right? The left? Oh damn, she really felt lost all of a sudden. She didn't know her way around this forest at all. She completely lost in the middle of nowhere, with no shelter for the night or anything.

Lost.

Cold.

Alone.

And once again:

Crying.

Damn, she wasn't sure if she had cried more when her mom died or at the moment. Natsumi right now, wasn't sure where she was going, but the forest was like filler for her memories and she had to get out. But…which way was out?

She ran blindly now, through the spinning black hole and dots of rain. It was all blurring together into one really fucked up picture. She pulled her legs farther, even though she was near passing out from mental and physical exhaustion.

So what now? If he didn't find her, if he didn't come…what then?

_No don't think about that…that won't happen. _

But if it did? There was that shocking realization to think of. If everything went wrong, she would have to start pretending again. And she didn't want to have to do that. Not when she had come so far. _Keep running… _She picked up her feet again, speeding her pace and ignoring the twigs and thorns that were lodging themselves into the bottoms of her feet. With her head held low she squeezed her eyes again to block out the burning tears and in a low whispers, she safely called his name.

"Hiei…"

"Natsumi?"

Her eyes suddenly widened as she ran into a black undershirt. Natsumi shot her head up and saw two crimson eyes staring calmly at her own. It was Hiei. He had come for her. He really came for her. Hiei stared blankly at her blood shot eyes, wondering what she had been doing this whole time. Had she been crying this whole time? "Are you-?" he started, but before he could she lunged towards him and held him tightly, like she was dying.

Softly he felt her begin to sob again. "I'm so glad I found you…" she choked; swallowing back her own tears. Hiei slowly put his arm around her in an attempt to stop her shivering. Jesus Christ she was freezing cold. Slowly, Natsumi pulled away, her leaf green eyes glossed over, but…she was smiling.

"I'm so glad I found you."

For a moment, but only a moment, she thought she saw Hiei twitch his lips up in a smile. But it was gone the next moment. "Listen, you shouldn't be crying." Natsumi blinked. "What?"

"Takashi isn't dead."

Natsumi stopped breathing for a moment. Had she heard that right? Takashi was alive? "He-he's alive?" she stuttered slowly. Hiei nodded, pointing behind him where his cloak lay wrapped around a bloody boy. "Barely." She cringed slightly at the sight of the half dead and half living Takashi. "Well, what do we do with him now?" she asked, hoping that Hiei had some sort of plan, hopefully, he wasn't going to count on her to revive him.

"We need to take him to Genkai's temple. My sister can heal him." He instructed, stepping to pick up Takashi's body.

"But…won't you get arrested for this? Isn't it a-…?"

"If he lives I won't." Hiei interjected flatly. His eyes were stone cold with the faintest expression of apprehension. "And judging from the loss of blood, he won't remember any of this to be able to tell anyone. But if we don't get him there quick, he just might die." Hiei had Takashi's body in his arms now, wrapped up in his black cloak.

"I don't understand…I thought he was dead."

Hiei shook his head. "No, I was mad and misjudged his heart slightly…lucky bastard."

"Oh," Though she didn't say anything, Natsumi was slightly relieved that Takashi wasn't dead.

Hiei signaled for Natsumi to climb onto his back, he was fast and the quicker they got there, the more of a chance Takashi had to live. She clung onto his shoulders, sniffling back up her tears. She felt rather silly now, crying when Hiei had come for her. "Um…it was raining…" she said. Hiei looked over his shoulder at her. She continued. "It was raining when my mom was murdered. That's why I don't like the rain."

There was silence, as Hiei jumped up and began to hop from tree to tree to Genkai's temple. For a long while, none of them spoke. "I don't like the wind." Hiei finally said. There was more silence.

"It was windy…when my family threw me away…I don't like the wind."

For the rest of the trip, they didn't say anything. But Natsumi smiled brightly in the back. So they had made progress. And whatever happened in the next hour, it had to be for the best. But no matter what happened, she had complete faith in him now. What they had just done…was about as close as they might ever get to saying 'I love you.'

…I love you too.

-

-

-

Well…my writer's block is gone! Okay, so I know! Takashi didn't die and you're all going to slaughter me for that. BUT, if he did die I would have the big dilemma of Koenma and yadda, yadda. So, I thought it would be best if he didn't die. You dig? So don't kill me! Savvy?

Also, I kept this chapter rather short for my own reasons. Since it was about Natsumi's past, I wanted to keep it in a sense, short and sweet. If you understand that… bye for now!

Preview:

They make it to Genkai's temple, but Yukina is worried that Koenma won't like what's happened.

So when Takashi wakes up, will he remember?

Natsumi stared up at Hiei, like there was a will gone in her eyes. She spoke softly, lustfully. "I'm ready…Hiei…I'm ready."

Farewell!


	18. The Sound of Settling

**Mindless Blah, Blah #11: **I know, I know, it took me long enough! Sorry, so sue me you know? I've been busy with school and stuff. My HUGE lack of having a life and stuff has been making things a tad hectic around the house. But I'm here, slow, but here. Yay!

**HieiFan666: **Well, Takashi will die eventually. Well they didn't exactly say I love you but it was very close! Ah yes! Lemon! Aha! The long awaited lemon is finally arriving on this stories doorstop.

**Mason the Crazy: **I knew it! Ooh, I so know so much Invader Zim stuff. I'm a freak. But it's okay, because Invader Zim rocks! I'm wearing my Invader Zim shirt right now!

**SummoneroftheSilverWolf: **Ah yes, ALIVE! But woot! A lemon! I see many people are happy about that. Tee-hee.

**Leah Bee: **I enjoyed that book very much…and you're right! Eh, don't worry, off topic is what I do best. But right now I'll try to stay on topic for the sake of everyone's sanity.

**Vegetasgirl4eva: **Don't worry about it, Takashi does disappear, forever! AHAHA!

**Stacey: **Dido!

**Kimahrigirl: **I will!

**Starfall88: **Well if someone did flame me I think I would cry. Not really but…I would be kinda mad! Anyway, good luck with hunting everyone down! (Kidding) Yes, a lemon!

**Cora Pembroke: **Thank you so much! I'm glad my fic makes you fuzzy on the inside. Tee-hee. Anyway, hopefully you will have better days coming and something sentimental like that. Yea.

**Priestess Rin: **Oh don't cry! I'm sure your fic will turn out great if you write it; I'll most definitely read it! Yes I will!

**Suntiger: **Whose past isn't? Well…in stories I guess they suck a lot more but…whatever. Of course, who minds a lemon? Not me!

**Hieiloving101: **Yea I know! I'm quite excited about that. What she means by ready is…er…well…you'll have to read. Yea, Takashi lives, oh well, at least Hiei won't be going to jail!

**BloodFlavoredDoghnutsRoxMySox: **WOW! Like WOW! Koenma dying? I wonder if that's even possible. (Gasps) I love D.N Angel too! And Gravitation! And Fruits Basket! And…OMG!

**xxXGoddessXofXDeadXLoveXxx: **That's why I put previews! It draws people in! Oh yea, I have big plans for this chapter and the next one.

**Hazelcurlsaremine: **I will!

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **Really? I'm happy! Not because I made you cry but because I have achieved angst! Warhar! I don't live in California! I live in Florida! Yes, would you believe it? Hm, I wish my math teacher was cool. Well have fun on your spring break, mind just ended! So just wondering, but do _you _live in California?

**Kendra: **Thanks, I will!

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **He was a stalker! Heh…(Imagines you writing quotes on your wall) It makes me smile!

**Animebishieluver: **Great! And yes, they will mate. Of course! I wouldn't just have them hang around like old farts. You're a total sap! Me too! I'm sure she'll huggle him somewhere in this chapter or the next…it's coming.

**SweetKissOfChaos: **Whoa. A chicken? In your closet? It's green and orange? That my friend is CRAZY! I look forward to meeting this chicken of doom, really I do.

**Hesushika: **Ha! You crack me up! 'Any making out in the next chapter?' That was really funny. Really it was.

**SoulessAmaya: **Thank you!

**Kitsune Kit: **Whoa yes! Lemons are gonna rain down!

**CrAzY-MaNiAc-PeRsOn: **Oh please, you could totally write one hell of a story! (With boys) Ha! That was a joke. I'm so coming over to your house soon and filling your computer up with naughty things! Another joke!

**Sara-chan10: **Woops. Yea I really didn't want to have to go through all of that. I think it was enough for them. Yes, ready for mating! Woo-hoo! Bored? Hopefully not with this…I'll cry! (Bawls uncontrollably)

**Tenken-no-Akiko: **Well it was along wait, but the next chapter had arrived!

**LoneWolfHiei: **Neat, thanks very much!

**Lestatsgirl15: **Yea he didn't kill him! And I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I was very busy! But you already read about that…

**Lopa: **Ah thank you! (Cries) I don't know who to thank for this award…okay enough being silly. I'm glad about that because I figured the simple sentences would make it easier to get into her feelings!

**Dreamstress Itako: **Thank you so much!

**Keiko Yukimora: **Yea a lot of people were sad that he didn't die, but at least he goes away!

**Jessica: **Hehe, sorry about that!

**AnimeFreaks13: **Hehe…hehe…my previews scare people. Well now…Lana…hm…who is this 'Dar' person? I'm very excited to learn about this…hm…yes…(figures out some sort of black mail) Oh yea. I wanna hear about this boyfriend! Poor you! Hiei and Lana both bully you! Ouch.

**Smirking Arrogance: **Yea that's what people tell me! Really now, who wants to write all of that? Not me.

**Sheepchi: **Catchy? Original? Neat!

**PiMpY fUnKeY tUrTlE: **I'm so happy you love my work! And the next chapter does have the lemon!

**LimonettaAmara: **Thank you! I'm glad that everyone is in character, otherwise that would really suck. I'm also happy that you felt for Natsumi, which was my goal when writing it! A sad chapter for your story? HM, I may have to check this out.

**Natsumi: **Wow! Cool for you! That's pretty neat; it's always nice to be related to a character somehow. And lucky for you the character gets it on with Hiei! Heh…yea that was humor right there.

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **Don't worry about it! Company is company! I just hate not being able to get on the internet when they are here! Argh! (not my point) Anyway…here I go!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled fiction. Viola.

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**Chapter 18-The Sound of Settling **

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**-**

Rain, rain, rain. We love-…ahem.

The rice paper door to the temple slid open. Yukina wasn't expecting any visitors, so she cautiously peeked out. "…Hiei…Natsumi! What's wrong? You're all wet! Please come in!" She ushered, throwing the door open all the way to let them in. When the sea green haired girl heard the knocking on the door, she thought perhaps Genkai had left her mission with Yusuke early. Much to her surprise, a soaking pair was at the door.

As the two entered, she continued to glance suspiciously at the 'thing' wrapped up in Hiei's cloak. This wasn't exactly a normal thing to do, especially at this hour in the morning. Yukina got the feeling that something was wrong.

Natsumi eagerly grabbed a towel from Yukina, who offered them the couch despite how wet it might get. They both sat, and for a moment no one spoke until Yukina said, "Uh…w-what are you two doing here?"

As an answer, Hiei slightly unraveled the black cloak to reveal a…head.

Yukina jumped back in surprise, although that should have been expected from Hiei. She didn't recognize the face, but they were sure Botan had told her some sort of story about Takashi.

"We need you to help us heal him." Hiei finally said, avoiding eye contact with his sister.

She blinked. "Who is that?"

"Takashi…you've heard about him from Botan right?" Natsumi piped in.

"Yes…what happened to him?" she questioned further. Hiei uncovered Takashi fully now, showing off a nice gash in the center of his chest, still bleeding slightly. Yukina frowned. "How did this…?" She didn't bother continuing, noting the look on their faces she knew Hiei must of done this. Maybe she should have panicked more, but Takashi needed attention at the moment or Hiei would have been in more trouble with Koenma.

She left for a moment, going to get antiseptic and gauze. Natsumi turned to Hiei. "Okay…if he dies, how much trouble will you be in?" Hiei thought for a moment, and then simply answered, "I'll be executed."

"Well don't be some damn calm about! This is serious!" she exclaimed, waving her arms around frantically. Why did he have to be so calm all the time?

"Why do you care, you won't be the one going to Spirit jail."

"Because…I don't want to lose you dumb ass." She pointed out, making it into a joke. Hiei shrugged. "Oh…don't get so sentimental woman, he won't die, Yukina has great healing power."

"Mkay…"

A moment later Yukina came back in, motioning for Hiei to bring Takashi into the next room on a sick bed. They complied, following her into the room. Hiei placed Takashi on the bed, stepping back with Natsumi to give Yukina room. "This may take a while, there's tea on the counter." She said softly. That was their cue to take leave and give her privacy, which is exactly what they did.

Natsumi could only assume Yukina had to use a lot of energy for this, and being a fragile girl, it must take a lot out of her. She grabbed the hot tea off the counter and resumed drying herself; she was still soaked to the bone.

Of all the things to happen…this was so troublesome. Natsumi sighed blankly while rubbing the towel behind her ear. And the fact that Hiei was so calm about it made her feel just stupid. Hiei's life was on the line as well as Takashi's. Since when was a fifteen year old girl supposed to have so much god damned responsibility?

She glanced over at Hiei, who was still sitting there with that bored expression painted on his face.

Oh, how awkward.

How very, very awkward.

"Hey, Hiei…does this temple have a shower?" she finally asked, immediately regretting her decision to say _that _of all things.

Hiei blinked.

Oh shit. That was _not _what she meant. "I mean…I want to take a shower! Me…you know…I'm kinda dirty." Hiei nodded in recognition before pointing to his left. "There's a hot spring right outside."

Natsumi wasn't sure what to say, so she didn't speak. Hiei didn't see the problem. The hot spring was _hot, _it wasn't raining anymore, so what was her problem now?

"What?"

Oh, he understood now…or so he thought. "The rain shouldn't have affected the temperature. There's a towel over there." She sighed. What an IDIOT. He didn't seem to understand that she thought he was had intentions of going in with her. But he made no insinuation of the sort, so she simply nodded along. "Of course, silly me!" she giggled fake like, shifting to get her towel.

"Alright well, update me on Takashi if he like…you know…dies…eheh…okay?" she said halfheartedly, sliding open the door and leaving Hiei on the couch. He only shook his head. Like he always said; she was a naïve and stupid girl.

-

Ah, yes, that was nice.

Natsumi slipped her naked body into the lukewarm spring and breathed in the damp steam rising up from the water. Her muscles immediately began to relax as she leaned against the side of the wall. "Mmm…this is nice…"

She closed her eyes and let her worries dip into the water. Yea this was nice. She had most confidence now that Takashi would live, and Hiei seemed really confident in Yukina. So, hey, what could go wrong? As comforting as the water was, she couldn't help but feel slight worry about her and Hiei's current relationship…if that's what it should be called. Even if Takashi lived, not everything could just be forgotten and thrown to the side. It would be that easy to do if it was at all possible.

In the lulling moment, Natsumi felt as though she might almost drift off to sleep. But suddenly, she heard a voice that made her eyes shoot open and practically out of their sockets.

"Hn, I suppose this is alright."

She shot up and saw Hiei standing but seven feet away from her.

Naked.

And she too was…naked.

Oh dear.

Her first immediate reaction would have been to scream bloody murder but it was Hiei, so she simply covered herself in the water. "You're naked! I'm naked! We're both naked!" She shrieked, making one shocking realization after the other. Hiei resisted rolling his eyes at her. "What do you expect me to do? Bathe with my clothes on?"

He just had to make it sarcastic.

Natsumi knew that Hiei knew exactly what she was talking about. Similar situations had arisen before, but never quite like this. Hiei had walked in on her naked from the chest up once, and she had seen him without his shirt on. And sure, fondling of certain body parts had gone on here or there. But there was never a time when they were totally naked in front of each other.

Even with the murky waters to cover their skin; the essence was still there.

"Just shut up woman, there's only one hot spring." Hiei explained, folding his arms across his chest. She pouted. Yea, maybe so, but they were still _naked _and she wasn't sure if they were…ready for that or some crap along those lines. Although Hiei did have a nice body. Well defined muscles that rippled over his skin and it really complimented him too. Wow, she liked those muscles. Those big, shiny-…yea…they were naked!

Perhaps she shouldn't have been wondering about this too much. She wondered if having dirty thoughts while someone's life hanged in the balance was okay or not. Whatever.

They were naked.

Slowly however, Natsumi began to ease into this situation, relaxing her shoulders and soaking back into the water. Yea this was nice, Hiei was at a respectable distance from her, and the water was warm. This was really, really-

_There was a sudden ripple in the water as if someone was moving in closer to her._

bad.

Really, she didn't want to open her eyes but she did. As Natsumi recalled, her and Hiei had at least a ten foot distance last time she checked. It had been reduced to four feet.

Should she panic about this? At first she wanted to but…that was normal after all? They were a…couple…thing…mating…people…stuff. So yea, maybe it was alright, as long as Hiei didn't try anything. Because well, Takashi was dying and that doesn't exactly spell out 'LET'S MAKE SWEET, SWEET LOVE' in big bold letters.

"So what's up?" she finally asks, feeling safe enough to close her eyes in her lull again. Hiei did that to her sometimes; really she had no idea why because he wasn't exactly _safe. _If you catch the drift.

"Hn, I think you know very well." He answers.

"Just trying to make conversation Hiei…don't be so pessimistic about it. What I mean was how you are feeling and shit like that. Get it?" she explained, lightly swishing her hand around in the waters. "Hn,"

She waited for more.

"If that idiot Takashi dies, I'll be fucked. And I don't really care to be honest." That was nice and blunt.

"Yea but, you'll have to leave."

"So?"

STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!

"Well…hello! I'm here you know. I won't be going anywhere! What do you think of that!" she snapped, leaning over to get in his face. Quickly, he closed the distance and pecked her lips, before pulling back and saying, "I think you're stupid."

Natsumi began to fume. Oh thank you, Great Exalted Hiei for that word of wisdom. As she was about to lift her hand up to hit him, he continued. This was quite a surprise. "And…"

OH the suspense was killing her.

"If he died, and I had to go to Spirit Jail, would you follow me?" his voice remained monotone.

There it was. Hiei had actually asked something that seemed sentimental. She blinked, wondering what to answer. That was the big question though wasn't it? Did they care enough about each other to follow where the other went? Did they…love…each other? Suddenly, Natsumi realized that Hiei had turned the question around and pinned it on her. DAMMIT! How did he always manage to do that?

"Well…yea…but…I asked you first! Would you miss me if you left?"

Hiei paused for a long moment. "Yes, you're more fun to joke at than Kuwabara."

Natsumi completely lost control here, and she would have stood, if she wasn't naked. "WHAT! Is that all you can…you…you little!" she took in deep breaths and looked up at the sky, trying to calm down. "I'm serious Hiei." She turned to him and her face seemed carved from stone at the moment. She was infact, serious.

"Would you miss me? Because…I would miss you."

At that moment Hiei's breathe fell a little short. She would miss him…because she cared. She actually loved the big idiot. So…oh damn now he had to answer her. Hiei had never been one for romantic things. But he was an honest person, and even if he wasn't great with emotions…he could say this, right?

"…I…yes…"

Hiei sheepishly gazed down at the water, feeling like a complete and total retard for saying that. That was so not him. Ew. But he his heart rate picked up when he felt two arms wrap around his neck. Natsumi had slowly closed their distance. He looked up at her, and she only smiled. Her eyes like deep pools of care. Perhaps they both should have jumped when their hips conjoined, but neither made a move to stop it. "D-Don't make this so…stupid." Hiei managed to say, lightning up the situation. Natsumi chuckled. "That's not what I was trying to do." Then she closed her eyes and kissed him, soft, then hard.

They hadn't been like this in a while, passionate, together. It almost took the wind out of Natsumi to feel his tongue brush against her lips, as she parted them for entrance. Hiei lifted his hands up and placed them on her shoulders, deepening the kiss and pushing his chest into hers. Really, she didn't care anymore if they were both naked. It just felt okay.

It felt right.

Things would have managed to go further, if the sound of Yukina's voice in the trees hadn't called to them. "Hiei, Natsumi, come quickly!" she beckoned, her voice echoing from the temple to the springs.

They jerked away from each other, groping around for their towels and clothes. The moment had them forgetting all of this. Was Takashi dead, or was he alive? They didn't know, but they were about to find out.

-

Footsteps stomped against the wood floors as Hiei and Natsumi ran like the wind, literally, Hiei was carrying her, and dashing to Yukina. Dead, alive? The moment of truth was haunting them. It was so close they could smell it. And it didn't smell like death. No, it smelt like hope. So maybe Takashi had lived through it all…the question being, would he remember?

But really, to Natsumi now, if Takashi had died, she wouldn't care. She would follow Hiei. She had made that choice long ago. Of course, there really was no need for that.

As the two practically broke through the door they saw Takashi, sitting half up in bed. Well, he was either alive or a zombie. Feeling very relieved, Hiei dropped Natsumi and wiped back sweat from his forehead. Oh, thank you, thank you! Natsumi as well, sighed in relief, thankful for Yukina's power.

"He lived!" Yukina cheered, smiling sweetly while she picked up her medicinal herbs off the floor. Takashi simply stared at her, then over to Hiei and Natsumi, who suddenly realized their other problem.

"What happened?" Takashi asked slowly. "How did get this wound?"

Natsumi only blinked, wondering what bullshit excuse they could make up that Takashi would believe. Much to her surprise, Hiei took the initiative to speak.

"You came over to the apartment very late, being an asshole, when you tripped and fell onto one of my…antique swords. Natsumi leaves them lying around because she's a pig." Hiei explained.

Oh great.

Thanks Hiei.

Natsumi gave Hiei the finger coupled with a menacing glare. Oh, he was so dead. But, Takashi seemed to believe them, as he frowned at himself slightly. "Oh, I see. I was being a fool, wasn't I?" Hiei immediately spat out a, "Yes." Which only added to Takashi's growing guilt, feeling as though he had done all wrong. Did that make Natsumi and Hiei bad people? Maybe…oh well. It worked.

Takashi, exhausted, fell back down onto the bed, sighing repeatedly. "I'm sorry." He turned his gaze to Natsumi while saying this.

"Oh well…you know! Shit happens…" she laughed, grinning widely. As if that didn't make it seem like a lie in the first place.

Duh.

Eventually they decided Takashi should rest there for the night and take a bus home the next morning. Or in this case, later in the afternoon. Natsumi and Hiei had practically flown there and couldn't return Takashi the same way without a thousand questions being brought up. Whether or not Takashi fully believed their story wasn't something they hadn't quite figured out, but either way Hiei's ass was saved.

Natsumi and Hiei had also decided to spend the remaining morning hours at the temple, too tired to travel home. But really, Hiei just wanted to spend time with Yukina.

They relationship they had was just so weird. But 'weird' had become the norm for Natsumi now a days.

It point blank seemed like forever until Natsumi finally settled onto the temple couch to catch up on her lost hours of sleep. She flopped down onto the plain cushion and curled into a ball, worry leaving her. Things were fine now; Takashi was alive and she knew that Hiei cared for her. Behind her, she heard absolute silence. Not the eerie kind of silence though, it was unsubtle and achieved silence. That sound.

It was the sound of settling.

It was nice. As Natsumi let sleep wash over her in a water color of dreams, she slightly wondered if that midget prince would be so pleased with Hiei. She recalled Yukina mentioning her concern to Hiei. Even though Takashi had lived, it was still a possibility to be punished. But Hiei was cool and collective at that, assuring her that he would talk to Koenma.

She assumed that's where he was at the moment, although she wished he was there. And then she felt like a hopeless romantic and almost tossed her cookies. But finally, she found sleep.

-

Light, ah, there was light!

This was something Natsumi hadn't been accustomed to in quite a long while. Slowly she began to open her eyes, letting her mop of hair fall over her face. She felt a little heavy; like something was weighing her down.

That something was Hiei.

Vehemence was still stuck between the two, like a thick mat on a hot summer day. They had never finished what they started earlier, in the springs. Slowly, Natsumi turns her head to look at the boy on top of her. When Hiei sleeps he looks almost like a child, calm and stoic. All the anger and hate in his eyes dissipates into a dream.

But the moment was gone as Hiei opened his eyes, aware of Natsumi's movements. The dazed look of sleep snaps out of his eyes as soon as he registers what time it is and Hiei makes his way off Natsumi and to the far side of the room.

"Well?" Natsumi asked, noting that Hiei had gone to talk to Koenma earlier.

"Well nothing, I'm fine…we're fine." He answered glumly, to the point as always - skipping the unnecessary details that no one needs to hear.

She sighed in relief and content before heaving herself off the couch. Curiously, she began to look around them. "Where is Takashi?"

"Home, he left on a bus earlier." She nodded in understanding. She had the deep that it would be the last time she ever saw Takashi, and she was glad about that more than anything.

They both said nothing afterwards, letting the silence almost engulf them before Hiei finally suggested they leave and go back home. It was what they needed to do, but Natsumi was only hoping Hiei had cleaned up the mess of blood left behind. "You know Hiei; you never did tell me how you got rid of the police." She said suddenly.

Hiei let out a soft 'hn' at that remark. "I just explained to them that you were out at a club and the screams reported were just a movie. I put on the damn suicide club movie to prove it." She nodded, laughing lightly. That surprised her and made her cheer up pretty quickly.

"So are we ready to go?"

Hiei nodded slightly.

Finally, after this huge ordeal, they would be heading back the apartment to lead on semi-normal lives again. Natsumi began to yawn and stretch, pulling up her pajama bottoms and getting ready to climb on Hiei's back. She slowly walked over to him and slid her arms around his neck.

And it wasn't in the way it was normally. It was slow and dangerous. Hiei peered back slowly, a smirk playing on his face. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly when she said it, her voice low and lustful. "I'm ready Hiei…I'm ready." He could have went on about how she was so naïve it was ridiculous but at the moment, Hiei didn't.

Because Hiei needed to get laid.

Yes, there it was. He really needed to have sex.

And whatever was into Natsumi at the moment, he didn't have to think twice about. When he confessed that he would miss her, she changed. So that was the key to a girl's pants? Spill your heart out and they leap onto you? Or maybe it had just been a long time coming. And he would be damned if he wasn't going to comply with her wishes.

They got home so fast they broke the sound barrier.

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(Dodges sharp objects) AH! I KNOW! It takes me like a million years to update and then I leave you with a cliff hanger! Sorry! But this chapter was very long enough for me and I'm a little sick. This weekend it's my friends fifteenth birthday party and she is Spanish so it's like a big deal and I am her bride's maid so this weekend I wont be here BUT I will update MUCH sooner than before, I promise!

And no more leaving out the lemon! In the next chapter, they DO most DEFINETLY have sex.

Preview:

Uh…well…there isn't much to say except: Hump, hump!

(To Jessica: Am I scaring you?)

"Hiei...we have to leave sometime." I leave your imagination to yourself.

Ha! Happy lemons to ya!


	19. Like an Animal

**Mindless Blah, Blah #12: **WOW! To the lemon already? I'm scared…! Anyway, Oh MY God they're gonna do it. Yea, well right now I'm home from school sick, which sucks because I hate high school, make up work. Yep…I am insanely sick. Anyhoo…who cares about that? They're gonna do it! (Dances around)

**I've been dead. Sick actually. Sorry.**

**SweetKissOfChaos: **Well…about me getting my butt in gear. Woops. I haven't updated in a long time. Sorry! But, I was sick and I'm here now, so don't sick that chicken on me!

**DreamAnimeKitten: **Oh, yay? I think. Yea, giggling like a schoolgirl is good at times I suppose. I know! I got really sick all of a sudden so I have not updated in a million years!

**Kitsune Kit: **Hehe…

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **Wow, California. I've always wanted to visit there but I've only gotten as far as New Mexico. But someday I'm gonna. (Ha, writer's humor…) Yea, awkward chapter…and this chapter…well…I felt awkward writing it. And then I laughed.

**EvilKritter: **Lemons are good! Everyone should read them! But not eat them because that is just icky.

**Sheepchi: **Whoa now, don't fall out of your chair yet; you might get hurt. I still have to write this lemon you know!

**AnimeFreaks13: **Ah well thank you. I always enjoy a bit of humor at the end of depressing things. Oh, Smallville, another great show from the…people on the TV. Actually Gilmore Girls is my favorite but Tom Welling is a hot piece of man. Tee-hee.

**xxXGoddessXofXDeadXLoveXxx: **Yep, this will be very exciting.

**Mason the Crazy: **Oh yea…me and my Naruto obsession. It has recently **EATEN MY SOUL **and I don't think I'll ever get over it. Not to mention my yaoi fan girl instincts took over. But what can I do? Yes, Invader Zim is the best show in America. And then Japan holds the record for the other really cool things that one could never find here. We suck. America, I mean.

**HieiFan666: **Yes! Lemons are raining from the skies! Well…not. But still, I have finally gotten off my lazy ass and decided to write this chapter. Wow, who would have thunk it? Me, writing again.

**Forgotten-Heart: **Hm…I think I'll just swallow some cough drops and get sleepy. I'm much too sick to be mixing things. I would light myself on fire, somehow, and that's never good.

**Kendra: **I didn't think of it like that…Hiei _is _gonna get some. Wow.

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **Oh my God, you know the lyrics to that song? I _love _that song with a major passion! Therapy: Been there. Bubble Wrap: popped that. On to something new I guess.

**Sausage: **Don't worry about it, a lot of people…er…burn down the house. Maybe. Anyhoo, I'm here (Finally) and updating!

**SummoneroftheSilverWolf: **(Gasps) Oh Em Gee…I am. Well, nothing I can do about that I suppose. Anyone who lives with Hiei that long would either kill themselves or change to his ways. She made the smarter choice.

**Hesushika: **Whoa there, let's leave Yukina out of that…she has no clue what they're up to.

**Dreamstress Itako: **Um, yea! Duh.

**Priestess Rin: **That was clever. Way to be!

**Aisuhana: **Why thank you! I do try to be rather funny at times. Actually I don't really try it just sort of comes out and then people laugh. I don't really know why though. Anyway, thank you.

**Suntiger: **Heh…

**Sisko66002: **Sorry about that. I'll be updating as soon as possible from now on! The light barrier…sound barrier. Eh, well…I got my point across to the people at least.

**Wolf of Fire: **(Winks back)

**Hieiloving101: **Yea you did! And I reviewed it! Did you see? Did you? Okay then…I'm done. But anyway, don't be throwing that computer. Try a cat they always land on their feet.

**Lopa: **I would like to thank the academy (Joke) and all the pills (Another joke) for this award. Warhar. Sorry about leaving your butt on the edge of the seat. I…suck at life when it comes to updating.

**Tenken-no-akiko: **Cool, thanks! I'll like…update sooner I promise you!

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **That's okay. Cute? You think? Yes, Hiei is cute! (Dances) Well…their both cute but…you get what I mean. Hiei is being cute, oh yea.

**Smirking Arrogance: **Hehe. Just make sure no one in the white coat comes to take you away. Ranting about cliff hangers and such. And don't burn out your eyeballs. Just stare at the sun instead. (Kidding)

**BloodFlavoredDoghnutsRoxMySox: **Eheh! Sorry! (Quite a funny pun though…even if it wasn't intended)

**Animebishieluver: **(Dodges rocks) Don't be mad! I'm here now!

**Shadow-Seeker-13: **Gothic perverts. Seems like a bad combination if you ask me. But then again, that is why we all love Hiei so very much. I suppose. Oh yea, he's kick ass too. That counts for something.

**ImParanoid: **I vote rabid penguin. Why? Because I can.

**Gothic-Ember: **So glad that I made a lovely combination of the two.

**Mama Moose: **Thank you, I will! Hehe, your penname makes me smile.

**LoneWolfHiei:** Of course I shall be continuing, no matter how slow I can be at times. Heh.

**Hieiluver121: **Don't worry. Computers poop left and right these days. Ha, the cliffhangers...I enjoy them very much. I will email you eventually, and I won't mention that I am from here, although I won't know what to say then.

**Stacey: **Yea I know and it's about time I updated again!

**Lon'Angel: **I WILL!

**Hirina: **Hehe, of course I will be putting the lemon in this chapter. How could I refuse my happy reader's demands? I couldn't, that's the thing. Although I haven't updated in a while…

**Chuu: **Thank you, I will!

**CrAzY-MaNiAc-PeRsOn: **Don't worry; I shall print out the lemon for you!

**Anime Queen364: **Thank you soo much! I'm sorry I took so long to update but I was very sick this past week. Don't worry though, I'm here now! So don't start crying!

**Kita: **Sweet, I'm in the red. And I checked out the girl's story, rather interesting. Thanks for recommending her. And yea…it does take me a million years to update, I'm so slow.

**SoulessAmaya: **Ah thank you. And I am (im)patiently awaiting your next chapter. So hurry up! (Like I'm one to talk)

**HBKCenaBenoitLoverForever1: **WEE! Thank you! I love to kick ass! I know, I know, it takes me a long time to update sometimes but I am working on that so don't worry!

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**Chapter 19-Like an Animal **

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**-**

**-**

**You let me violate you**

Ah yes, it was just another quite normal day for Hiei and Natsumi. Nothing exciting to report about really, they had just bee lounging around the house all day long. The birds were singing and everything was as it should be.

Except that is a load of bull shit.

So let's get straight to the point kiddies. About oh, five minutes ago, Hiei and Natsumi had sped off from Genkai's temple with only a quick goodbye to Yukina. They were now currently right outside the door while Natsumi fumbled with her key to get it unlocked. Hiei's face remained bored, although he was secretly about to pee his pants. Natsumi on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. And for good reason.

She had never had sex before; although she was sure Hiei hadn't either.

Uh, yea, she's fifteen.

She's fifteen!

Not to mention she didn't really want to get pregnant. But that was the whole point of _mating _wasn't it? To conceive children? She could just imagine a million little brown haired Hiei's running around blowing people up. It wasn't pretty. But she really had no more time to think about it as the door had unlocked and they were let in.

**You let me desecrate you**

She breathed in deeply and tried to think of the good points of this. She did infact, _want _to have sex with Hiei…she loved the guy. But she wasn't sure what demons did afterwards. Would Hiei leave her or what? What if she did get pregnant, would he stick around? How many babies could a demon have anyway? Oh Kami…did they lay eggs?

She furrowed her brow suddenly, hoping to every and any God out there that _that _wasn't true. Slowly she turned around and faced Hiei, a nervous smile painted on her lips. He noticed.

"What is it?"

"I'm nervous." She answered truthfully.

**You let me penetrate you **

Hiei sighed lightly. He knew she would say that; human girls were unlike demon girls in many ways. For one thing, demons mated whenever and wherever. But for humans the process had to be taken slowly and with great care. It seemed human girls were like glass, the wrong touch could break them. But at least she was being honest.

Hiei noticed Natsumi's frown when he took much too long to answer her. She felt kinda dumb now. _Oh great, now he thinks I'm an idiot. _

"I knew you would be." Hiei finally said, his voice still conveying no emotion. Natsumi waited for Hiei to continue, her heart beating very fast. "I suppose that's a normal human reaction."

Yes, yes it was! Go Hiei! "And I don't have any intention of leaving you." There was a huge sigh of relief right then; as Natsumi's face relaxed back to the loving one Hiei had grown so accustomed to.

Okay, she was officially ready. _Breathe. Just breathe. _

**You let me complicate you **

It was like a black and white movie. Things were moving slower, off track. As if nothing was working right, but it was still a great show anyway. It seemed liked forever before Hiei covered Natsumi's lips with his own.

In an instant they tumbled backwards, barely missing the nightstand and falling onto the bed. It all seemed to be happening way too quickly; and then not fast enough. Hiei landed on top, as a sign of dominance. It was to be expected after all. It was easy to discard their clothes as Natsumi was still clad in her night shirt. They flew into the wind, as did their cares. Tongues explored mouths, pushing the other back repeatedly. The two soon noticed that there was nothing anymore, keeping their bodies closed off.

It was just the two of them. Nothing but them under those covers.

They paused, looking over the other's body. It was really a sight to behold; each one felt the other's body was flawless…a real work of art. So this was it huh? They were about to do it. Hiei began to lean forward when Natsumi held her hand up. "Wait…"

Hiei blinked.

"Um, when I was still in school…we had this talk…about safe sex…and I think you should use a condom…"

**Help me; I broke apart my insides **

Well that could have been a problem. Hiei didn't have one. And that could mean some serious trouble. Natsumi pointed to the nightstand and smiled lightly. "I have some…you know…I've always had them just in case…not like I planned on it!" she added quickly, pulling the drawer out with her free hand and digging through it.

Eventually she pulled one out, tossing it up at a very impatient Hiei. He ripped it open agitated, not even bothering to ask himself why humans were concerned with such things. AIDS…possibly.

Whatever.

**Help; I've got no soul to sell **

"Happy?" he asked sternly. She smiled meekly and answered with a kiss. So happy. He leaned over her again, his whole body covering hers in an almost protective state as he rolled his hips over her own. Slowly Natsumi brought her hand up to toy with his hair, curling it around her fingers.

**Help me; the only thing that works for me **

Coyly Hiei mouthed his mouth to her ear. He almost inaudibly whispered. "There's no going back."

**Help me get away from myself **

Silence. "I know." Natsumi pushed Hiei's face back to hers. "I know." She answered again, looking right deep into the red of his eyes. And then she winked at him, for whom the hell knows why, but she did. He kissed her again, mouth moving slightly lower by the second. This was it; it was really going to happen. Natsumi bit her lip but finally let a soft moan escape. Hiei's hands were so soft; God she had never noticed that before.

She loved it. Hiei moved his hand back up to her shoulders looking at her one last time before he took her. Natsumi gulped, not really sure about what the pain was like. But she knew soon enough. It happened so fast she forgot herself.

**I wanna fuck you like an animal **

"Nhg..." Hips rolled over the other, grinding together as one moaned the other's name in ecstasy. It felt like they were in a parallel universe when he was inside her; like it was a whole other world. A feeling that was so strange and nirvana that it was beyond an explanation. It was like a small and simple slice of heaven.

**I wanna feel you from the inside**

The two began to play with each other's hair, getting more into the moment as the pain eased by. Hands skimmed over the other, lips brushing against tender flesh, biting deep. Sweaty sheets entangled between their legs; whispers in the afternoon sun, as one backed down and then rises with the other, howling the name, and the cycle continued through out the noontime. Eventually they would both back down, but neither wanted to stop.

**I wanna fuck you like an animal **

Neither wanted to end something this good.

**My whole existence is flawed**

There was a long, comfortable silence following the sex. Maybe that's what one should do. After all, what were they supposed to say to each other? Natsumi rolled over on the bed, fixing the sheets and fitting her head to the pillow.

She was exhausted.

Hiei was even exhausted.

They were squeezed together on her bed, and even though their bodies were still touching, it was alright. It was good. Needless to say, neither Hiei nor Natsumi was prepared to give a speech. Hiei after all, didn't really speak unless it was a necessity. And Natsumi didn't seem to be able to word anything right.

So they lay in silence. And it was something to be proud of; when you become to comfortable with someone that you can let hours of silence pass over and not feel the least bit uncomfortable. Even if they didn't say a thing the rest of the day, it would be fine. And that might have been the best choice because both were very tired.

Natsumi planted her face in the back of Hiei's neck; wrapping her arms around his waist. And he didn't protest. Why would he? But finally Natsumi spoke, talking to the cracks on the ceiling rather than facing Hiei. "Well koi…that was…nice." She finished slowly, wondering if her words were chosen well.

"You'll have to wash the sheets." Hiei said in monotone.

"Yea…what? Why me?"

"It's your blood."

"But, but…it's your juice too!" She argued calmly, clearly stating an obvious fact.

"Hn,"

Natsumi huffed and stayed silent again. At least things weren't weird between them now. However, much to her surprise, Hiei suddenly spoke.

"That was nice."

**You get me closer to God **

It had become a rather horrible…addiction. Just a week after the Takashi fiasco and having sex; Natsumi and Hiei had yet to leave the cramped apartment.

One can assume what was going on in those seven days they stayed in. It may have been slightly stretching the truth, but it was safe to say that they had never really left her bed…unless they had to.

But that wasn't to be confused. This wasn't a lust thing.

It was a l o v e thing.

L o v e.

Love. Love. Love. Got it? Great.

And for whatever stupid and idiotic reason it felt _so _right for them. It was…them. It was oh so them.

Anyway, it was Saturday. And as earlier stated, the two had yet to really leave the bed but both were fully dressed at the moment. So basically they were just lounging around in the comfort of the mattress. It was still only eleven in the morning. "Hiei, we have to get out sometime." The statement had been a long time coming; Hiei knew that. Natsumi turned on her side and expectantly stared at the fire demon, awaiting his answer. "Hn, I suppose that's true. Eventually, we will have to leave." She nodded calmly.

"How about today? I don't like this apartment all that much you know. And I'm sure everyone is worried about us." Natsumi added. Hiei snorted and scrunched his nose in. "Screw them, it's not like they called."

"They did. You disconnected the phone, remember?" Hiei blinked. "Hn, no." That was a lie. Natsumi rolled her eyes and then out of the bed. She lazily made her way over to the cord to reconnect the phone to the wall. Satisfied, she placed her hands on her hips and smiled over at Hiei. "There, that's better. I think maybe I should call Kurama or Botan soon. You know, to let them know we're still alive."

And then suddenly the phone began to ring off the hook.

It caused Natsumi to leap out of the way of the phone and twitch. "Wow…" she breathed.

Hiei remained calm; he knew that was going to happen. Natsumi slowly walked back over to the phone and picked it up off the cradle. "Hello?"

"Natsumi? OH my goodness! You have no idea how worried I have been! We've been calling you for over a week and it just said the phone was disconnected!" Botan began screaming into the phone, causing Natsumi to hold it away from her ear and glare over at Hiei; who simply shrugged at the matter.

"B-Botan Just calm down woman! You're breaking up…where are you?"

_Knock, Knock, Knock _

"Right outside the door! I was afraid you two had run away or died! Let me in!" Natsumi could hear her outside the door now, screaming frantically. Oh wouldn't she just calm the hell down? "Do not let her in." Hiei demanded, jumping out of her bed and threatening her with his eyes. She shrugged as she hung up the phone. "She knows we're in here though."

"So?"

She sighed. Nope. Nothing had changed.

Natsumi skipped to the door and prepared to open it. "Oh…Hiei are we talking about that thing we did with Botan and-…"

"No." He answered bluntly. "No one can know yet." She pouted slightly. That kind of stunk. She really wanted to let everyone know the good news. Yea, it was good news to her. Why didn't Hiei want to tell anyone?

Natsumi finally opened the door to a sweaty and out of breath Botan. She was panting and holding a phone to her ear. "There…you…are…how have you been!" Botan turned her lips up into a smile and hugged a slightly freaked out Natsumi. She darted here eyes to Hiei and they spelt out 'Help'. Hiei remained still with that Gothic expression on his face.

"Onna would you let go of her?" Botan blinked and then removed herself off Natsumi. "Sorry…I've been worried about you two. I mean when Yukina told us about what happened…well Kurama was furious. And…I just thought I would see how you two are doing."

"We're fine, get out."

Natsumi laughed nervously before punching Hiei in the shoulder. She twisted her face and mouth, 'Stop that; it's obvious.'

'Hn, you're obvious.'

Natsumi was about to lift her hand back to punch some sense into Hiei when Botan's voice piped up. "So what have you two been up to all this time?" she asked. The question was simple and harmless to her. But it was so much more to them. Hiei remained uncommonly quiet and Natsumi began to stutter a little bit. "Uh…nothing. We've just been sleeping around-I mean sleeping in! Dammit! Sleeping in!"

It was only a tiny fluke but Botan noticed it. Damn grim reapers. Natsumi bit her lip as she felt the heat of Hiei's glare down her back. Oh fuck. "Oh…really now? That's um…interesting."

"I meant…that came out wrong." Natsumi corrected lightly; containing a nervous laugh and refusing to look at Hiei.

_I feel a bit awkward now…_ Botan realized. "Of course. Well, at least I know you two are alright now and I will have to tell Kurama about it so I should most likely be going."

"That would be great." Hiei spat out sarcastically. He had positioned himself on the window sill.

Botan continued. "Right…you two should come over actually. Why don't you guys come on over with me right now?" She finished, already trailing out the door of the apartment. "But-…" Natsumi turned to face Hiei. "Come on." She whispered harshly.

Hiei shook his head violently. "Their going to badger us into telling them something."

"Hiei…" she replaced a serious look on her face. It was a good thing Hiei had been in a good mood all week otherwise he would not have agreed to go. He finally got up off the window sill and started to walk out the door with Natsumi.

"You are. An idiot." He stated.

Yep, nothing had changed.

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I've been so sick. Anyway. I hated the ending; just because I can. I WOULD have had this up yesterday but the stupid website wouldn't let me sign in for what ever reason. Okay, I think this time I really might get the next chapter out sooner! Really, it's the truth this time! I know I have been very sluggish. But uh…yea. My brain fried. And then…I just…er…

Did you know, that this story…I think I'm going for twenty two chapters at the least. Maybe more; but I thought I would let you know that and say that I just can't thank everyone enough. But…we still have three chapters to go. So review! Okay, okay? Hehe. He.

Preview:

"She knows…Botan knows." The truth is spilt…or is it?

Hiei makes it clear that public displays of affection are a no-no.

Natsumi makes a secret visit with Koenma…concerning Hiei?


	20. What Are Your Intentions, Dammit!

**Mindless Blah, Blah #13: **Hm…well about the lemon. I have to say, I am too much of a chicken to post it here…hehe. And also, I wanted to keep things less erotic and more romantic or something. Or something.

**EvilKritter: **Wow, sounds like you have a lot of boys to share your affection with. Kudos to you! (Winks)

**Sisko66002: **You know Hiei, he just has this huge issue with people knowing things especially if Kurama will bug him about. But when everyone does know you can imagine the big ego trip he'll have.

**SweetKissOfChaos: **Hehe…yea. Sorry I know it takes me like five years to update but I'm just making the chapters as good as possible you know what I'm saying?

**Hesushika: **…is this chapter long enough for you! Ha, just kidding. Praise the goddess because the long chapters are finally back and I guess hooray or something.

**Animebishieluver: **You make me giggle. 'Nuff said.

**Wolf of Fire: **Oh I know, it's been such a long trip with all of you and I think I might start to cry now so I'm going to stop writing this review answer before I get all bubbly.

**Lopa: **Damn fire demons and being hot and sexy and urgh! I didn't keep my promise, oops. Sorry but I have been busy to the max and things are all hectic and school it ending soon and blah.

**AnimeFreaks13: **If Lana goes mute I might go insane because I really do enjoy her witty sarcasm and putting down of everyone is not her. You should make her talk! Sing Lion King until she goes insane! Heh, me and my plans.

**Hieiloving101: **Ah yes, Hiei finally got laid. No problem I did really enjoy reading your fiction, it was quite interesting.

**X2 Aeon Darkness IX: **Oh you're a new reviewer or at least I think you are. Yea I'm pretty sure you are. Well welcome to the story thing yea I guess I don't know.

**Smirking Arrogance: **Yea I really don't enjoy when this site does that sort of stuff to us but what can I do? Glad you found it funny the other genre is humor after all.

**SummonerOfTheSilverWolf: **You see, I enjoy making people angry so that come at me sharp knives. Kidding! I don't know I suppose it just sort of happens.

**HBKCenaBenoitLoverForever1: **Ahaha, I don't think Hiei wants to be called a bunny though. Oh well too bad for him. He's a big horny bunny and he just has to deal with it!

**Shadow-Seeker13: **Oh my God happy birthday to you! How old are you now like fifty? KIDDING! KIDDING! Ahem…yea.

**Forgotten-Heart: **Well, I really didn't want to make it too much of a lemon really. I wanted it to be much more of a romantic thing for the first time and you know the real lemon can come next chapter or something.

**Fate's Child Destiny's Friend: **EEE! I've always wanted to meet someone who lived in California! I want to visit there someday but I haven't gotten very far on that. Only to New Mexico. But one day…ONE DAY! Okay, I'm done.

**xxXGoddessXofXDeadXLoveXxx: **Ah yes well I really just got upset with it or something. I don't know I really just wanted to delete the damn thing so I did and I feel much better about it now. Also I hate working on two fics at once.

**Hirina: **…Writer's block really does suck. I hate it so much! You know it's funny because right before I read your review I brushed my teeth and inhaled some kool-aid. (Really?) No.

**Stacey: **Yep, yep!

**Gothic-Ember: **Hey, I girl's got to be exited after losing her virginity you know? I know I would be. Well anyway it did take me quite a long time to update this story. Oops.

**Suntiger: **Yes! Exactly that is what I wanted to do! You are so wise with it! Go you!

**Priestess Rin: **Um woo? Hehe, glad my story isn't crap to you.

**Jessica: **Don't get creeped out! I tried to keep it you know romantic and stuff just for you! And for me because I would feel like a porn writer. Ah well what can you do?

**SoulessAmaya: **Ha, you little perv! It's okay, these chapters are starting to take me a long time as well. Maybe you are a perfectionist but at least you can have awesome chapters!

**Mason the Crazy: **Sorry, but I can't leave your head. I really like Joe Bob. Heh, woo I'm starting to creep myself out now. It's such a great song isn't it, I really enjoy it. Just got their new CD too!

**Sausage: **Actually one time I accidentally started an electrical fire in my house when my dog bit the computer wire. I guess one day I'll get around to burning the house down. One day.

**BloodFlavoredDoghnutsRoxMySox: **Whew, your penname is a real pain to type out, you know that? Yes Botan is evil. EVIL!

**LoneWolfHiei: **I shall.

**Sakura Trees: **Yep I still got two more chapters to go!

**HieiFan666: **The song was Closer by Nine Inch Nails. Yea, I know! Reality check here people need to remember that sex requires a condom. Anyway, lots of secrets are to be answered. (mystery music plays) actually not really.

**Hiei'slover-Hiei is Mine-Arwen: **Eep! (Types very fast)

**Hieiluver121: **I have the first season and the whole dark tournament on DVD. I also have the movie and um…the video game for GBA. Oh! And I have a Hiei plushie which I huggle everyday. Very proud.

**Dreamstress Itako: **Yes, I have finally updated! Wow, oh my gosh it took me like seventeen days or more I think. Anyway, I'm so happy that Natsumi is like cool and stuff. Because some OC characters are just really silly. There are a lot of punk ones out there.

**Anime Queen364: **YAH! No, my computer didn't blow up! I would cry if it did. Oh…that's such a scary thought. Eh…I'm going to go huddle in the corner now I think.

**Hiyuri Jaganshi: **Eep, don't let it slip out your ears. Lol.

**Dobu: **Hurrah. I'm so happy that you enjoy my writing style because I…don't know.

**Chow-Chow Binks aka Chic: **No worries! Don't worry Koenma wont do anything to her that's bad. Actually I wouldn't even really call it a secret meeting although I guess it could be.

**EiraChildofWater: **I am working on a new story actually. Glad you like my writing! Later days.

**Inusesshygoddess: **Sweet and yet not out of character? Cool, I feel like I have done something right for once, hehe.

**Syaoran 03: **I'll keep that in mind, thank you. Near perfection…sweet.

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**Chapter 20-What Are Your Intentions, Dammit! **

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It was quiet…too quiet. Too…awkwardly quiet in the house. No one spoke; there was only the metallic clink, clink of Botan carrying tea into the living area of the home. As she set the tea on the table she glanced over to Kurama, who then glanced over to Natsumi and Hiei. Both looked dead…bored. He sighed inwardly. This meant he would have to do the talking.

"So how are you two?" he asked, curtly sipping on the tea. Finally the silence had been broken. "Fine, we've been fine." Natsumi answered lamely. She knew that Hiei wouldn't be answering that or any of the questions Kurama would come up with. "That's good…" he murmured, before taking another nervous sip of his tea.

_Oh good lord just ask them already. _Botan pleaded with herself, trying to get the message across to Kurama got the message. He didn't. _Telepathy is no good… _

There was another moment of silence before Kurama firmly placed his tea cup on the tray and folded his arms. "I heard about Takashi." He said sternly, closing his eyes in a sage like manner. Hiei grunted fiercely but stayed neutral; leaving Natsumi to answer…again.

"Oh…yea that."

"Yea…_that_." Kurama mocked lightly. "I know this wasn't your fault Natsumi. I have an issue with Hiei." The fox gestured his gaze to the fire demon, sitting quite close and _protectively _by Natsumi.

"Hn, I don't have to tell you shit."

Kurama ignored the comment. "What were you thinking? He could have died…you would have been sentenced to death."

"But he lived...and I wasn't."

Botan tilted her head to the side in frustration. Hiei was like a brick wall and Kurama knew that. So why was he so persistent in telling him these things that he obviously didn't care about? Her other means for frustration was the fact that Kurama had no clue about the two.

Botan was a quick learner though…when it came to these sorts of things. Right when she walked into the apartment she smelt it: sex and sweat. It was hanging in the air like a foul smell should. And it was obvious that they were hiding something…so, so obvious. And of course, Kurama in all his foxy wisdom couldn't even see that.

How sad.

Or maybe…he didn't want to see it.

"Well um…" Botan started, causing Natsumi and Hiei _and _Kurama to dart their heads in her direction. "Well when I went over to your apartment this morning I uh…" _It smelt like sex. _"Well things looked…different." Right away Natsumi and Hiei knew she didn't mean different as in the decoration had changed. Kurama remained skeptical as always it seemed; never jumping to conclusions unless he had the facts.

"Different how?" Kurama enquired lightly.

Botan cleared her throat several times before answering. "Different as in well…they…well Natsumi I think…did you and Hiei-…"

"OH God Botan! I spilt my tea!" The words rang through the house as the chocolate haired girl purposely spilt the green tea all over herself; although, it may have looked like an accident to others. Natsumi hopped up and motioned towards the kitchen. "Will you help me clean it up please?" The girl blinked at Natsumi, who had more of a threat posted on her face.

She was a quick girl, Botan was, and caught on right away. "I…alright sweetie you just follow me into the kitchen!" Botan and Natsumi trailed into the kitchen while Kurama and Hiei stayed put in the den area.

There was a push and a shove as Natsumi hurried Botan over to the paper towels, suddenly realizing that she liked this shirt and didn't want it ruined by the tea. Botan chewed on her lip for a few moments before speaking. "Did Hiei put you up to this?" she inquired shamefully. There was a quick eye roll as Natsumi took a moment to examine the situation.

"No, Hiei did not put me up to this but I know he doesn't want anyone to know. You know?" Natsumi explained, while Botan used spot cleaner to clean up her shirt. There was silence. "Did you two…do that thing…sweetie…huh…did you and Hiei have sex?"

"…Yes."

More silence. "I see."

It seemed like now Botan concentrated more on the shirt and kept silent for a moment. But only a moment; she suddenly began to, what sounded like squealing. "Oh you go girl! I can not believe that! It's…wow!"

As happy as that made her, Natsumi slapped a hand over Botan's mouth. "Shh! Yea it's great but he doesn't want anyone to know yet."

"Natsumi he should be proud of you!"

The girl blushed. "Agh…yea…but apparently not proud enough." She laughed half-heartedly. "Um…just please don't say anything for now. I'll talk to Hiei and see if I can get him to tell Kurama but no promises." Natsumi crossed her fingers and smiled. Botan nodded continued rubbing the stain which hadn't taken the chance to settle in and was just about gone now. A few moments later it was decided that the stain was no longer visible and it would be best to return to the den area. "Botan…I…thank you. This means a lot."

"Don't worry sweetie, you'll pay me back one day." Botan smiled slyly and waltzed back into the den and Natsumi twitching lightly behind her. _Alright then…creepy. _Botan returned to her former position sitting by Kurama while Natsumi gave Hiei a, 'The Secret is Safe' look signaling that all was well and no one knew. Hiei didn't say anything apparently in a, 'Go-Fuck-Yourself-Then-Die' mood again for whatever reason now.

After that incident that didn't stay much longer. Hiei had been a real ass to just about everyone for reasons only Natsumi (and now Botan) knew. Natsumi tugged fiercely at Hiei's collar to jerk him back inside the door to at least say goodbye to Kurama. The poor fox had no idea why Hiei was so mad. The two had just started their walk home and much to Hiei's disappointment, Natsumi seemed a little pissed.

"What is it now?" He sighed, knowing he would have to ask her that question or she wouldn't say anything the whole day.

"Are you like…ashamed of me or something?" The question came out a little more bluntly than intended. _That sounded so lame. _Still Natsumi had whirled around on her feet in the middle of the sidewalk of the city and popped the question. Hiei never really gave much thought to these kinds of questions, humans were into such strange rituals and he didn't want to be apart of it.

Still…the question needed answering and not the kind that would earn him a slap in the face and a strict 'no more fondling' rule. "Not unless you're Kuwabara." Natsumi furrowed her brow. Yay? Nay? Was that good? She wasn't quite sure but at least he didn't say, "Well yea" like she had originally thought.

She could have questioned him further but, not wanting to make a scene on the street, she stepped back to meet up with him as the continued walking back home.

Perhaps it was the crisp cool air that confused her senses at the moment because Natsumi leisurely slung her arm over Hiei's shoulder. This caused a sudden twitch followed by Hiei stepping violently to the side and giving her a very perplexed look.

And that's when she realized that this was Hiei. Mr. I-Don't-Do-Public-Displays-Of-Affection-Unless-I'm-Certain-It'll-Lead-To-Sex. That Hiei. How could she have forgotten that important detail? And maybe she had thought for some reason that having sex had possibly changed something in Hiei. Or whatever was going through her head. Because that meant a lot to her, and she began to feel foolish and uncertain.

"What were you doing?" Hiei questioned, as if it were a big deal. Last she recalled, they were not in the third grade.

Natsumi's face fell into a barely noticeable frown much to Hiei's surprise, who was expecting a flashy comment. "What?" it was half a question and half a statement. "Hiei…you…you know what? Just forget it. Let's go home?" Natsumi's pace quickened, although Hiei's was just as fast.

He had never been good with fights or relationships of any matter. So this made zip sense to him. "Fine." What was her problem anyway? Mou this was just too much work. Natsumi pace picked up to almost a slow jog now, with Hiei riding right up her butt. Truth be told he didn't even know what he had done wrong to make her so mad all of a sudden. And it bugged him.

A pissed of Natsumi he could handle. But now she just looked hurt.

But as usual Hiei didn't bother to go into the issue; he just let her huff back to the apartment. He figured now, that there was no chance for any play later.

How sad.

Instead when they got inside, Natsumi (without a word said to Hiei) walked straight over to the phone and dialed a number. Hiei headed to the window sill and sat expectantly while she had a muffled conversation in the kitchen with a mysterious person. Hiei pretended that this didn't bother him, really he did, but who the hell could she possibly be calling?

Really now, it was obvious she was angry with him, maybe she should just say something to him. Unable to contain his curiosity, Hiei quietly slipped off the window sill and creeped into the kitchen. Unfortunately for him, Natsumi was finishing her conversation with the mystery persona. He only caught the last few words exchanged. "Yea I'll be over there at eight."

Well now. This was call for concern. Hiei edged through to the chocolate haired girl who had just placed the phone back onto its cradle. "Who was that?"

She swing around on her heel and smiled in the most fake manner. "No one, just Botan. I'm going over there at eight." Botan? Since when did she spend quality time with the grim reaper? This was obviously a joke. "You're kidding woman."

Natsumi shook her head with an unreadable question. "No, that was Botan. I told you I was going over there already."

"Hn…I see." Okay, no big deal. Whatever. This didn't bother Hiei _at all. _Because Hiei didn't care. Of course he didn't. Absolutely not.

Damn onna.

-

Hiei glanced over at the digital numbers printed across the clock. It was eight seventeen. This meant that Natsumi was over at Botan's doing whatever ridiculous thing she had planned with that woman. Probably complaining about him. Why did she have to do these things? She must have known how much it was bugging him and that is exactly why she did it. Just to spite him.

What a bitch. Oh how he loathed her.

…Why wasn't she home yet?

-

"I've been saying that you asshole!"

Kurama drew back his hand and used his index finger to clean out the noise from his ear. She didn't have to scream right in his lobe now did she? Kurama retreated back onto the couch next to Botan. "Well Natsumi, I know you said that he threw your arm off but you didn't say anything about it?" This was apparently the wrong move to make. Natsumi was towering over the two as she had refused to take a seat since she arrived. "What was I supposed to say to him? Excuse me Hiei but that really hurt my feelings. That just sounds retarded!"

The fox put a hand to his forehead. "I can not believe this. You and Hiei actually had sex? He let you…actually I have no doubt about that but still. I can understand your frustration. Hiei isn't easy to talk to."

"No shit Sherlock."

Kurama cleared his throat. "I hope you used the proper safety measures." Natsumi stepped backwards. _Oh God _was he going to give her a sex talk or something? Maybe Hiei was right about it being a bad idea.

…No! Hiei was wrong! He was self indulging asshole! Natsumi slid down onto the lazy boy chair behind her and buried her face in her hands. "I'm starting to think this was a mistake. I'm regretting ever doing anything with him at all." She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Botan smiling softly at her. "Oh sweetie that's just Hiei. Don't regret it…he's…a nice person…sort of…"

"Um, thank you?"

Botan went on further. "I mean it, he really feels bad. He just doesn't how to show these sorts of things."

"Yea but…he should. I just feel kinda stupid thinking that I don't know, we were going to have some sort of relationship or something. But it was strictly just mating no? The urge is probably gone by now. He's going to leave. Dammit! He's such an ass!"

This wasn't the right way to go about things, Kurama knew this. He didn't have any love advice to hand out and neither did Botan. "Yes…well, did you not say that Koenma was actually coming here?" Like he had love advice to offer. Psh.

"Well," Natsumi explained. "He has Hiei's record. I just…I don't know. Want to check something? I really don't know." Botan squeezed Natsumi's shoulder lightly. "But if you want a relationship with Hiei then you're going to have to talk to him about things."

Natsumi's expression darkened. "Have you met Hiei?"

"Point taken." Botan slunk back into the couch cushions and slammed her head into the back of the couch. That was the truth of the matter. Hiei had a reputation of sorts for getting you up and putting you down real fast. Didn't anyone ever teach him to sugarcoat the truth? _Apparently not if the little hole was raised by thugs…_

The three stayed unusually silent in the den for a while until a knock descended on the door. "Open up!" Natsumi shot her head up at the sound and then looked to Botan and Kurama for reassurance. Was that the prince guy? The uh…um…whatever his name was. Botan got up first and jogged to the door to greet the prince. "Koenma!" The noise was enough for Natsumi to flash over to the door.

"Alright dammit, where it is?" she thundered. Koenma took a startled step back before regaining his composure quickly. "At least allow me step inside first…if you don't mind." Natsumi pursed her lips and glared at Koenma before stepping aside. She only let him walk to couch (she didn't even let him sit down first) before she began to hound him with questions. "Okay enough of the hellos where is it?" This gesture once again caused the prince to jump back in desperate fear. If he didn't give her what she wanted he was afraid she might murder him.

Koenma reached into his pocket while keeping a locked gaze with Natsumi who he would now refer to as 'The Psycho Bitch'. After just a few agonizing seconds Koenma pulled a file from his pocket and handed it over to her. The file was just a plain looking manila folder with papers stuffed in it. In actuality it was Hiei's file. The file that held all of his past crimes, relationships of any kind etc.

Natsumi wasn't sure what her purpose in reading this file was, but she was determined to do it.

_-Two Hours Later-_

_­­_It was…

Useless.

For two hours-TWO HOURS she had searched through and read every file that was in the manila folder. And she had found nothing. No past records of any family, no girlfriends (not that she had suspected he had any) and a very…colorful criminal record. The thought suddenly popped into her head. What was she looking for anyway? His tragic flaw written in fine print? A big statement reading: 'Warning, a very cold-hearted bastard. Do not sleep with.'

Did she?

"Are you satisfied?" A hollow voice asked. Kurama smiled down at Natsumi, whose eyes had been bloodshot since the first half an hour of reading. She only groaned inwardly and pouted with a frown painting her features. "No."

Kurama slid his arm around her shoulder and pulled her away from the file. "You aren't going to find what you are looking for in there but I think you already know that." The two made their way to the kitchen past Botan and Koenma, who had fallen asleep through the whole ordeal. It was true she hadn't found what she was looking for and now she just felt more upset.

"I just don't get him. He sucks at life you know. Big shithead…don't ask me why I love him." Natsumi mumbled, taking eager sips of soda. Kurama gave a slight nod. "Do you?" he asked, putting much more thought into it. She blinked. "Hmmm?"

"Do you love him?"

Natsumi felt the corners of her lips twitch. "I don't know…" they eventually pulled into a smile. "…Yes."

"Then why don't you tell him?"

"I can't! That would sound stupid. I don't even know if he does, which he most likely doesn't. We all know that he only needed to get laid and then the urge would be gone. So it's done."

"Then why hasn't he left?" Kurama rationalized. Natsumi froze on the spot that time. The fox had a point, why hadn't Hiei left already? Or was he just waiting for more? "I don't know…Kurama…you know Hiei really well right?"

"Well yes, but I think he might be more open to you in some instances." He let out a light laugh as it was half a joke to him.

And then the next question came and it caught him off guard. "What are Hiei's intentions?" Kurama blinked and stared blankly over at Natsumi, who had the most serious look on her face.

Kurama leaned down then and nudged his nose against hers. Much to her surprise, he let out a chuckle. Before she could ask what the hell was so funny, he spoke. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" The girl frowned to show her disapproval. "I know he'll listen." Kurama finished. Something like that was easier said than done however. Natsumi held back answering the question by swigging the can of soda down. _Gulp. _"How do you know?" she asked finally, keeping her eyes locked on nothing in particular.

"I know him really well, you said so yourself. And it's true; I do." The answer was so simple and the words were jumping out at her. What the hell was she doing there trying to look for an answer when she had to ask someone who wasn't there for it? Natsumi's mouth fluttered into a smile as she threw the empty soda can away. The thank you was silently given as she grabbed her coat and exited the house without another word.

_There's something I have to do. Thank you. _

-

Hiei's an impatient person. He doesn't enjoy waiting for things especially if he **wants **them. So it was almost ten thirty and Natsumi hadn't shown her face or even called. Not of course, that Hiei cared. But dammit he had a right to know. But if he went over to Kurama's it would seem like he was worried or upset and he could not let something like that happen.

Must be a cold hearted bastard.

…

_God damn it where the hell is that woman! _

"Yo, koi, I'm back." Hiei turned his head sharply away from the window he had been perched on for the last two hours to be met by Natsumi. He said nothing as she took of her coat and began to walk towards him. Nor did he say anything when she cupped her hands over his face, although he felt he should. "Hiei…" she started, inching much closer now.

Was she going to kiss him? Instead, she got as close as possible without breaking space and opened her mouth. And it was open and there and it felt so complete now. "What are your intentions, dammit!"

Even Hiei wasn't expecting a question like that. Much to his surprise his eyes widened slightly and now he could only wonder if this was some nonsense that Botan or Kurama told her. "You told Kurama." His eyes narrowed now into a death glare. This was his way of avoiding a question he didn't feel he had to answer. "I don't think that's the point Hiei, you're avoiding my question." Her eyes were equally narrowed now and from the looks of it this could have ended up in a good old fashion brawl.

"Hiei, you..." Natsumi trailed off and backed away from the fire demon to give herself some space to think. "I mean it Hiei, was this…you know this thing we had or still have just like a fuck to you or what?" The fire demon blinked almost helplessly. And just where the hell was all this coming from?

"Because I can understand that you don't want to be all lovey-dovey in public but I at least want to know something…some sign that you're not just in this because you have to be or because you want to get laid and it meant nothing more. Because…it meant more to me." _I love you. _

_But I'm not sure if you do at all. _

OH this was sappy. Natsumi hates sappy things, especially if she is the one saying them. But it had been said and now she crossed her arms and waited for Hiei's reply. And it was like needles and pins in her heart because with Hiei you never knew what he was going to say. "_Well,_" Hiei started, resuming his past position on the window. "If I just wanted to fuck your brains out, which I have, wouldn't I have left days ago?"

Well.

Yea.

Sort of…

Kind of…yea.

Hiei continued much to her surprise. "Woman you can be very dense sometimes. Don't let that ferry onna or the fox fill your head with nonsense. My intentions _are _noble so deal with it."

"Um, okay." Natsumi squeaked out submissively. Somehow Hiei always made her go a big rubbery one and no matter how hard she tried to fit it, he had a hold over her she couldn't break out of. Hiei's voice would always be sharp and cut but the sounds behind it were what gave Natsumi realization that he, yes he, cared about her because he only used that voice around her. And it sounded kind of stupid to think about but it was the truth. "Now come over here." He ordered, holding out his hand. Natsumi obeyed without question and took his hand, a little too starry eyed to really think about it right now. She never let anyone give her orders. "I was gonna do that stupid." She mumbled, squeezing his hand.

"Hn," Hiei pulled her up onto the sill with him and practically cradled her in his arms. It was something she had to realize that Hiei didn't really do affection, at least not in public. But that didn't mean he didn't care at all. It showed he did. A lot.

"Koi…?"

"Hn?"

"You're such a dumbass." _I love you asshole._

"Hn." _I love you too, bitch. _

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Wow. Um, hm…we are all probably wondering why I haven't updated. Well, I have a good reason this time! I'm working on a book, a real book, which I hope to get published so a lot of my time as been devoted to that. (Dodges sharp objects) And, um…okay. So I made Natsumi a tad bit girly in this chapter which I had to because sex is very important to girls we all know that. So she had to have a panic attack. Anyway.

Preview:

Thanks to the divine intervention of Botan and Kurama, Natsumi and Hiei might finally tell each other, I love you. (Like really, finally)

Divine intervention…pft. Sounds a little more like disaster.

And thanks to overly large mouth of Botan, Kuwabara and Yusuke decide to joke around with the happy couple. There drops the bomb.


	21. The Things You Want To Say

**Mindless Blah, Blah #14: **Okay…I lost this completely when my hard drive gave out, so i had to retype the entire thing over again. And well that wasn't any fun. But hey! At least it's here now! So I wont be answering reviews this time in order to actually get this out. Phew.

So what's up?

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**Chapter 21-The Things You Want To Say**

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Since when was being someone's mate a signal for interrogation? Natsumi let out an exasperated sigh before toying with Hiei's hair. This was something (as established earlier) could only be done in private or when no one else was in the room. And since Kurama and Botan had gone off to get the rice balls out of the rice cooker (though Natsumi suspected hanky panky) Natsumi began to wrap her fingers around the mess of black hair.

It was fascinating really. She never noticed how gravity defying Hiei's hair was before. It just stood up all on its own! What was up with that? Certainly a form of demon magic. Of course Hiei didn't mind her touching his hair because this meant he got to play with her hair.

Although most of the time he just preferred to kiss her.

But what can one do?

An-y-way, Kurama had been inviting Natsumi and Hiei over a great lot lately, mostly to ensure they didn't engage in 'Too Much Sexual Activity'. Which was a load of bull because: "You can never have too much sex." Natsumi said to him. It was intended as a joke but the damn fox took everything literally these days. That was how they ended up in Kurama's den every other day.

The interrogation began again when Kurama and Botan stepped back in the room. This was usually followed by a "So what did you two do last night?" Which secretly meant: 'Did you screw?' Instead Botan began with a rather odd question. "Have you and Hiei gone on any dates?" Natsumi pulled her fingers out of Hiei's hair and blinked. "…Huh?"

"Dates." Botan repeated, stretching out the vowels. "Have you gone on any _dates_?" Natsumi glanced over at Hiei, who almost had a look of disgust printed on his face. The word date had become alien to the two, as their days were usually spent lounging around the apartment or trying to rob children of their dignity by pulling down their pants. And Natsumi doubted that _that _was considered a date. Still there was cause for suspicion as to why Botan would be asking something like this. "Uh…no…not really…" _Why? _

Botan nodded thoughtfully to her answer as Kurama set down their tea. There was something behind all this, Natsumi and Hiei both knew that. The only question was what exactly plan Botan had jumping about in that mind of hers.

"Well isn't that funny? Because it just so happens-" Hiei's eye twitched before he punched Natsumi's foot to signal it was time to get the hell out of there.

"That Kurama won two reservations for a free dinner at Kobe steak house but of course he won't be needing them. So we were wondering, would you like them?" As soon as Botan finished her sentence, Hiei jumped up off the floor and headed for the door, expecting Natsumi to be following right behind him.

Only when he turned around he found her only half sitting on the couch, her eyes sparkling dangerously. Surely she didn't actually like the idea of going out to some restaurant and dining around other…people. Then it all came down and hit him like a ton of bricks: she was a girl. Of course she was going to like the idea of going out to eat for free. Oh Botan was a tricky one.

"Really?" Natsumi beamed.

"Really!" Botan chanted. Even Kurama was smiling with a tint of victory. So that was their plan; to get them out on a date? No, there had to be something else behind it all. Something so much more devious.

"Hiei!" Natsumi's voice called Hiei back to reality. She was signaling for him to come back over to the couch. He didn't want to do that. "Come on Hiei! Did you just hear that? FREE food."

The fire demon had to admit, she had a way with words. Free food…hm.

Reluctantly, Hiei let himself be beckoned back to the couch. Natsumi kept wiggling around like a school-girl and talking about how she always wanted to go out to eat there. Botan had put them in a rather sticky situation. Because Natsumi really, _really _wanted to go that restaurant. But Hiei had to stay strong. He was the male in this relationship. No matter what happened, they were not, under any circumstances going out to eat at this Kobe steak house.

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Usually on Friday night, Hiei and Natsumi popped a bag of popcorn and watched (more like made fun of) old movies on the TV screen before making out. It wasn't anything special but it was just what they did. And to some extent, it was special to them. That was how they did things. And Hiei couldn't make any complaints because even though he would never admit it, he really enjoyed just being alone with Natsumi.

But for some odd reason Hiei found himself standing in front of a restaurant with the name of Kobe.

The odd reason he was there was Natsumi. The hours of begging and pleading that had gone into this would have earned her a gold medal because she had managed to force Hiei along with her. Not to mention the exaggeration of free food. And the two hadn't had a decent meal in weeks.

"This is stupid." Hie commented. It was the only sentence he had said all night other than Hn. The two were still waiting inside for their table since they were a few minutes late. (Thanks to Hiei)

"Well then go home, but I'm staying."

"Hn, I never said I was leaving." Hiei hated when Natsumi did these things. She didn't even try to make him stick around, she told him to stay or get lost but that was probably what he loved the most about her. She wasn't trying to impress anyone.

She didn't need to.

"You do realize that this is some scheme put on by Botan?" Hiei informed her, trying to pull her away from the fish pond. She rolled her eyes all-knowingly before answering. "Of course I knew that, but hey, free food. Do I have to stress it anymore?" Indeed she had mentioned that fact to Hiei several times that night and the day before. The only thing that really bothered the two was the fact that neither was quite sure of the master plan Botan and Kurama had in mind.

They didn't really have anymore time to ponder that before their name was called signaling that their table was ready.

As they were walking down the narrow passage way to an open-flame table, Natsumi gave a little tug on Hiei's sleeve. "Just remember," she whispered. "If either one of them jumps out and yells something, I give you permission to kill them."

"Hn, like I wasn't already planning that." Natsumi gave Hiei a quick pat on the shoulder then and that was about the only public display of affection she ever gave him these days. And she found that she was quite alright with not holding his hand and being lovey-dovey with him. It was like a phobia Hiei had or something. Actually she thought his general cold attitude was rather…cute to say the least. And that was saying the least.

A moment later Hiei and Natsumi were seated all cozy at their table looking over their menus. Well Natsumi was. Hiei on the other hand, was gazing around at the other tables for any signs of blue or red hair.

"Oh my gawd this damn this costs twice the fucking yen you spend on a pound of lobster. Wow. This place is expensive…I say we rack up Kurama's debt…Hiei? What the hell are you doing?"

_Thwack. _Natsumi brought her menu down on Hiei's head to get his attention. It worked, although she had serious doubts as to whether or not he could even feel it with that hair of his. "What?" he snapped, his eye nearing a twitch. Apparently Hiei hadn't notice that he was leaning over the table and his Jagan eye was glowing.

"Your…eye thing was glowing. Christ do you want people to think you're weirder than they already do? Just sit down, I'm sure Botan and Kurama aren't stupid enough to sit in the same area as us." Hiei grunted and then shrugged before seating himself. There was no way he was going to be able to relax and enjoy a free meal knowing that Botan and Kurama had something planned.

Stupid onna.

Stupid fox.

Hiei was finally able to calm himself down enough to start scanning the menu, with the occasional glance up to look around the room again. Whatever sick and twisted plan Botan and Kurama had planned, they would be ready for it.

"Okay, I'm going to order the most expensive thing they have. How about you Hiei? Wanna help me rack up their tab?" The boy shrugged. At least it was some form of payback. A waited began to circle over to their table. "Ready to order?" Hiei kept his face buried in the menu, but Natsumi figured the best thing to do (and the quickest) would be to just order. "Ah yes, we'd both like an order of the most expensive thing on this menu." The waiter gave them an off look. "Okay then. I'll take your menus."

Natsumi turned to Hiei. "Hey…you don't look so good."

"Nonsense. I'm fine."

"Koi…" her tone was reprimanding. "You look a little p-" Hiei moved his hands violently up without warning and clutched both her shoulders. His face was still dark, but there was a hint of…bewilderment? "They give out a free cake to couples on their anniversary. _Couples…_that bastard fox."

"Wha? Hiei…what the hell are you-"

"It was on that accursed menu."

"Oh,"

There was silence between the two.

Natsumi shifted in her chair a little bit. This would be a tough decision. Free food…or dignity? If there was a free cake there was most likely a song, and then the waiters would ask how long they had been together. And that was no good. But it was free food. Gah. Hiei owed her big time for the favor she was about give him.

"Hey you wanna get out of here, go for a walk maybe?"

"Fuck yes."

"Will you give me a piggy back ride home?"

"…No."

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"Kurama?"

"Hm?"

"KURAMA!"

"WHAT?" The fox took a sharp intake of air and pardoned himself; though he had good reason to be agitated. Botan had dragged him out to this steakhouse to keep an eye on Hiei and Natsumi and well, he was quite ashamed. He had told her already: "I don't think this is a very good idea. I don't want to go behind their backs." And Botan had replied: "Shut up."

But now she was pulling frantically on his sleeve and pointing through the window to two familiar faces leaving their table. And there they were outside in the bushes. "They're leaving Kurama! Why would they do that? They already ordered…"

"Maybe they caught on."

"Impossible." Botan pointed out.

"But probable." Kurama counter-pointed.

"Crap. Where do you suppose they are going?"

"I don't know…home I think."

"We should follow." Botan suggested; more like stated.

"Botan. No." Kurama's voice was firm and steady. He was a demon for Christ's sakes; he should have his own voice.

There was a hand clutching to his wrist then and pulling him up off the ground. Botan glared daggers. "We have to! We've already come this far and there is no way I am backing down now!"

"But Botan…okay…okay…but just-,"

"Come on!"

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It wasn't very cold outside, but still chilly. Winter was still clinging to spring with a harsh breath that frosted the lips and stung the tongue. The field wasn't very lively, in fact there was no one there besides Hiei and Natsumi. The two had skipped out a dinner, assuming the meal would have to be paid for anyway, and decided to take a walk to wherever.

Natsumi's stomach gave a light growl, and she hugged herself loosely. "I'm hungry. Let's go to that ramen stand. Yay, nay?" She awaited an answer from Hiei, who was walking briskly ahead of her.

She quickened her pace. "Hiei…did you hear me? I said – Jesus slow down! What the hell is your problem?"

Hiei jolted to sudden stop and swung around. "What do you supposed those ingrates had planned? I'm sure it was some stupid human ritual in which we were to exchange vows."

Natsumi twisted her face. "Marriage, Hiei? I don't think that's what—"

"They need to learn to mind their own god damn business."

She frowned. There was something growing behind all this. They were going to have a fight soon and they both knew it. Maybe it would have been better if they had just stayed home instead of going out. It wasn't like they even got to enjoy a meal anyway. Hiei was too pissed off about Botan and Kurama to act even half way decent. Sigh. Men. "Well," she started a-matter-of-factly. "I think it was kinda nice in a weird way. I doubt they wanted us to get married Hiei. They probably just wanted for us to do something together that was, er, romantic."

"It was stupid." Hiei kept walking, though he wasn't quite sure where he was walking too. Romance…psht. But from behind he felt an icy glare. Before he had a chance to turn around, she spoke.

"Fuck off then. I don't see what _your _problem is. Free food Hiei. Free. Food. And you denied me that because you couldn't stand a few happy glances from complete strangers while we received a cake? Do you think cake makes you _weak _or something? Because I think it tastes pretty damn good. And I hate to sound like a girl but if you're going to keep denying that we are anything, or at least I think we are, then you can just…move. Out. You can just move out…yea." Natsumi swallowed upon finishing, her eyes shrink wrapped and glossed over. There, she said it. Maybe that sounded stupid. But she wasn't going to hang around with Hiei if he refused to even look at her around other people. She wasn't going to stand for that.

Hiei kept his back to Natsumi for a moment, trying to recall all she had just said. She was talking really fast, and kept stuttering at words. He finally turned around in, what felt like, slow motion to face her.

Big, beautiful mess. Her cheeks were flustered from the cold, and with her hands shoved in her pockets and her lips pouted, she looked younger than he remembered her to be. "What?" he asked suddenly and it came out softer than he had meant it to. Natsumi bit down on her lip and the two kept their distance. "I said if you aren't going to be with me than you should move out. And I really mean that Hiei."

"What are you going on about? I am with you."

"In private. What about in public? You won't let me hold your hand or put my arm around you. Hell, you won't even look at me. What's the point in something like that?" The past winter wind blowing against her face was making her eyes water up.

Was this, was this something she wanted to say to him? Yes, she had to.

"Hiei, I love you." She paused. "And I want to be with you but I can't if you aren't there with me."

The silence that fell afterwards was deafening. And Hiei wanted to say something, but his vocal cords seemed swollen shut all of a sudden. That hit him somewhere in the chest, close to his heart, and he didn't know why. Was he actually supposed to answer this question? Did she expect him to just come right out and say something? Maybe, and most likely, yes. He just did not know what the fuck to say.

"So…" he started to say but trailed off into a whisper. "What?" he finished quietly. It was supposed to sound so much harsher than that. It really was.

Natsumi kept her gaze directly on Hiei, much to the fire demons disappointment. "I love you, idiot. What do you think about that?"

"…"

"Hiei…do you love me?" There was silence. The sun had just about set now, leaving a hazy orange glow over the grass and tinting Natsumi's face from his view. He couldn't tell what the expression on her face was at all. Maybe he should just…say it. He knew that he loved her, but he wasn't planning on saying that anytime soon. He could have just left right then and there and never look at her again, but that was like letting go of everything. E v e r y t h i n g.

So he started to do the only thing he felt he could do. Fire demons aren't vocal, they speak with their actions and expressions because it's hard to say what you want to say. The things you want to say don't always come out as planned. Hiei walked right up to Natsumi with his face still void of any emotion and stared right into her eyes. She looked a little confused, and that was what he was hoping for.

Suddenly, he turned his back to her and crouched down very slightly. "Get on." He spat. She blinked. The answer she was originally looking for was a yes or a no. But Hiei never gave straight forward answers. "Um, what?" she tried to clarify but only got a long sight from Hiei.

"Don't be stupid. I said get on my back."

"Hiei why-"

"Just get on so I can carry you to _our home._ Fool." She beamed, she positively beamed and Hiei could feel it glowing on his back as she climbed on. "You're giving me a piggy back ride!"

He started walking rather briskly, as she was lighter than expected. "Not if you call it that ridiculous name." Hiei kept walking and Natsumi kept holding on with her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his middle as he carried her back. In public. With people…looking at them.

Looking at _both of them. _

And it was quite possibly on of the most ridiculously romantic thing ever. To Natsumi at least. They were home in no time and safely in _their _apartment when Hiei let her down and she kept smiling. "You love me." She taunted slyly. "You looove meee!"

"Shut up." He was fuming now, and a little embarrassed. All those people were…watching him.

"Aw, Hiei loves me."

"Shut. Up. And don't ever do that again. Don't question me because I do…love…you…sort of yes woman so just shut up and get your ass in bed."

Natsumi leaned down and kissed him right on the lips. "Yes sir!"

"There better not be anymore of these emotional fits." Hiei commanded sternly.

"Sorry, must be my period." She stated nonchalantly.

"…"

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Yusuke Urameshi was not a quiet person. He was loud, as was his friend Kuwabara. Though Kuwabara was slightly more…dim. Anyway, the duo was not the smartest bunch of boys. Especially when it came to Hiei. For example, right now they were knocking on an apartment door which just so happened to belong to Natsumi and Hiei.

Botan had a big mouth. And after the whole dinner fiasco she thought it would only be fit to inform Yusuke and Kuwabara of Natsumi and Hiei's 'status'. As such, the two boys traveled to the apartment for a bit of 'congratulations'.

"Hold on I'm coming! Just stop knocking on the god damn door already!" They could hear Natsumi's voice traveling closer and the turn of a knob before her not so cheery morning face appeared. "Do you two know what time it is?" she snarled. It was about ten thirty in the morning.

Yusuke wasn't listening to her though. "Where's Hiei?" he hissed coyly. And Kuwabara gave a weird snicker before noticing she was in panties and a tank top. "What…are you and shorty doing in there?"

She rolled her eyes in the realization that she should _not _have opened the door. "Sleeping, or at least we were, until you assholes came knocking around at the wee hours of the morning! What do you want!" So apparently neither Hiei nor Natsumi were morning folk. Yusuke figured he should get right to the point but now without a little heckling. "You could at least invite us in. It's good manners for a young lady."

Natsumi mumbled something inaudible like 'screw manners' but opened the apartment door all the way for the boys. They stepped in, avoiding loose articles of clothing and others things lying around on the apartment floor. Judging from the state of the apartment they could figure that neither Kurama nor Botan had been invited over to visit. "So, what do you two boys want today?"

"Oh nothing," Yusuke chimed. "What has the lovely _couple _been up to?"

"Sleeping. The lovely _couple _was sleeping. Hiei! Hiei! Yusuke and that orange-haired kid you don't like are here!" ("Hey!") Natsumi threw open the window and scanned around on the roof. "Surely though, you two didn't come all the way just to entertain me with your witty humor. What's up?" she pulled her head in from the window and crossed her arms under her breasts.

A moment or so later Hiei came thrashing in through the window, obviously just waking up. Old habits die hard apparently. He spotted Yusuke and frowned slightly but noticed Kuwabara and fell into a death glare.

"Why did you let that in?" he asked Natsumi, obviously referring to Kuwabara.

"They um…it's too early." She turned back to Yusuke and Kuwabara. "Tea? It's instant!" They nodded in unison and she lollopped off to the kitchen to let the boys talk.

Hiei watched Natsumi trail off before dragging his attention back to Yusuke, who was lifting his eyebrows suggestively. Hiei clutched the hilt of his katana.

"Give me one good reason not to kill you both now."

Yusuke waved his white flag. "Whoa, whoa there buddy. Calm down, Hiei. We came to inform you that we're all supposed to go to Genkai's for training before a big mission we're getting. Gotta leave by to-mo-rrow!" Hiei loosened his grip on his katana. A mission? It had been quite a long time sine they were even given a mission at all. But what about Natsumi? Was he supposed to just leave her alone while they were gone? He wasn't even sure how long they _would _be gone. Though he was sure she would be able to take of herself, he didn't like the thought of her alone with other…men around.

"You know, you could take Natsumi up with us. You know, to stay with Genkai and Yukina while we're gone. That way she wont be alone." Came the sudden suggestion from Yusuke, noting the look on Hiei's face. But he kept his cool. "Hn, if that is what she wants."

"Yea, yea! Her and Yukina could become great friends! We could be like in-laws! Even though none of us are related." Kuwabara stated a matter of factly. "Shut. Up. Just shut up." Hiei gritted. "We'll be there tomorrow. What time?"

"We'll be where?" Natsumi had just re-entered with two cups of instant tea to hear the tale end of the conversation. "Oh, oh, is it a vacation?" She shoved the cups into Yusuke and Kuwabara's chests before eagerly awaiting an answer. Kuwabara looked at Yusuke who looked to Hiei who then turned to face Natsumi. "We have a mission." She blinked. Hiei held back a groan. "You don't know what I'm talking about do you?"

She shook her head innocently. "Nope."

Two cups of tea and short explanation later, Natsumi had been briefed on the whole Spirit Detective scenario. She was also informed about the mission and the suggestion of staying with Genkai. The whole thing sounded great, for the most part. "How…how long will you be gone do you think?"

Hiei shrugged. "It depends."

"Oh, I see." She didn't entirely know how to feel about this, but staying with people didn't seem so bad. And this was his job…or it was something. So it looked like there wasn't really any choice in the matter. And hey, maybe Genkai would be open to a house party! "So uh, we're just gonna go now." Yusuke poked Natsumi lightly on the shoulder. "See you tomorrow. We'll just…let ourselves out."

Yusuke and Kuwabara left abruptly and left Natsumi and Hiei alone once more. They were completely silent for a while and Natsumi just started to pack a few clothes to last her about a week. She figured Hiei didn't want to talk about it, because he didn't like to talk about much at all so she just grabbed socks out of the drawer and threw them on the bed. "So…will you die?" She had her back to Hiei – digging through the drawer for more clothes.

"Don't be ridiculous. I won't die. Not until I see it fit."

"Huh, well I'm glad that's been working out for you." She grabbed a shirt from the bottom drawer. "Will you be going to that uh…you now…demon world or whatever?"

"Most likely."

"Get me a souvenir!"

Hiei twitched. "What are you going on about?" She shrugged lightly and threw a pair of pants on the bed. "I don't know, I just you know…well wouldn't you want a souvenir from somewhere crazy like that? I would. Just trying to lighten the situation."

Well this kind of sucked. Her and Hiei were just getting good with each other again. And she wouldn't admit this to anyone else (actually she would) but dear god the sex was a-ma-zing. But Hiei might be gone a long time. A really long time. "I'm going to miss you."

"Hn."

"And you're going to miss meeeee!" she taunted. Hiei groaned. This mission was going to hang over his head.

"You pack. Now." He turned away from her again but heard the springs creak when she crawled across the bed. "You know," she grabbed the collar of his cloak. "You'll have to give me a real goodbye tonight."

But then again…missions weren't _so _bad…

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Oh my dear lord, finally! You know I LOST this on my computer and had to retype the whole thing over again. I'm sorry it took me SO long but I lost my motivation when the file got deleted. But now I have my new computer in my room and I am all set to type freely! The last chapter, I plan on making it very, very long! I hope. So it may take a while to type BUT I will have it out so don't worry! And I am really sorry about the wait you guys, but shit happens you know?

**I haven't answered reviews this chapter (as you very well may have noticed) but I WILL BE ANSWERING REVIEWS next chapter, don't worry. **

**So please review and help contribute as it will be SO sad when I have to finish this story up! (Sniffs) Anyway, I look forward to your comments on this chapter. **

Last chapter preview:

So Hiei has to go on a mission, not with a proper goodbye of course.

But first, there will be training.

Hiei leaves, but he's coming back right? RIGHT? Oh dear…

Until then folks!


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